Steghide is a free and open-source steganography tool used to hide secret data within various file formats such as JPEG, BMP, WAV, and AU. The tool uses a password to encrypt the data and then embeds it within the cover file. The embedded data is not visible to the human eye and can only be extracted using the same password used to embed it.
Steganography is the practice of hiding data within another file format, without giving any visual indication that data is hidden within the file. Steghide supports a wide range of steganography techniques including LSB (Least Significant Bit), which replaces the least significant bit in the cover file with the secret data. Steghide also provides several other techniques to improve the security of the hidden data such as compression and encryption.
Steghide is a command-line tool that can be used on various platforms including Linux, macOS, and Windows. It can be used for various purposes such as hiding sensitive information in images, audio files or even video files. It is widely used by security experts and researchers to test the security of systems by hiding sensitive information in a cover file and then attempting to extract it using Steghide or other similar tools.
If you encounter the below error while running the command steghide:
steghide: command not found
you may try installing the below package as per your choice of distribution:
| Distribution | Command |
|---|---|
| Debian | apt-get install steghide |
| Ubuntu | apt-get install steghide |
| Arch Linux | pacman -S steghide |
| Kali Linux | apt-get install steghide |
| Fedora | dnf install steghide |
| Raspbian | apt-get install steghide |
steghide Command Examples
1. Embed data in a PNG, prompting for a passphrase:
# steghide embed --coverfile path/to/image.png --embedfile path/to/data.txt
2. Extract data from a WAV audio file:
# steghide extract --stegofile path/to/sound.wav
3. Display file information, trying to detect an embedded file:
# steghide info path/to/file.jpg
4. Embed data in a JPEG image, using maximum compression:
# steghide embed --coverfile path/to/image.jpg --embedfile path/to/data.txt --compress 9
5. Get the list of supported encryption algorithms and modes:
# steghide encinfo
6. Embed encrypted data in a JPEG image, e.g. with Blowfish in CBC mode:
# steghide embed --coverfile path/to/image.jpg --embedfile path/to/data.txt --encryption blowfish|... cbc|...
Summary
Overall, Steghide is a powerful steganography tool that provides an easy and efficient way to hide data in various file formats. Its ease of use and compatibility with multiple platforms make it a popular choice among security experts and researchers.