A robust image steganography based on the concatenated error correction encoder and discrete cosine transform coefficients

Zhenkun Bao, Yanqing Guo, Xiaolong Li, Yi Zhang, Meng Xu, Xiangyang Luo

Abstract: Robust JPEG steganographic algorithms are proposed to protect the embedded message when the covert JPEG image is JPEG-compressed in some lossy channel. They usually perform much better on anti-compression ability than the traditional adaptive JPEG steganographic algorithms. However, massive recent experimental results reveal that the message extraction accuracy of the present robust JPEG steganographic methods are not high enough in some JPEG compressing channels. Thus, this paper proposes a new robust JPEG steganographic algorithm with high message extraction accuracy with equivalent detection resistance. First, the robust channel for the JPEG compression and steganographic embedding are analyzed. Second, a new error correction encoder that can protect the message in lossy channel is proposed. The structure and inside codes of the proposed encoder are different to the traditional codes used in adaptive steganography. Last, the proposed code, the relationship between coefficients and the minimal distortion model are combined to build new steganography. 10,000 images in the popular BOSSbase 1.01 image library are selected for magnanimous experiments. Compared with the adaptive JPEG steganographic algorithm and some current robust JPEG steganographic algorithms, the experimental results show that proposed method can not only resist detection efficiently, but also obtain higher extracting accuracy on resisting JPEG compression.