A robust audio steganography technique based on image encryption using different chaotic maps

Abstract

The development of innovative methods for concealing critical data in multimedia files has exploded in information security in recent years. Cryptography and steganography cannot be used alone to protect data; rather, they can be combined and used in a single system. Audio steganography is among the most important information security techniques. It involves the concealment of information within audio signals to achieve covert communication. This paper introduces a comprehensive technique that integrates chaos Henon, Baker, and Arnold maps for image encryption with audio steganography to create a robust and secure audio steganography technique. First, the target image is encrypted using chaotic maps. Then, it is embeded within the high frequencies of the cover audio signal based on the Inverse Short Time Fourier Transform (ISTFT) to be transmitted to the destination through the channel. By integrating both encryption and concealment techniques, the cover audio signal quality can be preserved. Moreover, the hidden image security and robustness are improved, making the technique resistant to many types of attacks. The simulation results confirm that the suggested technique is robust in the presence of attacks. It achieves a distinct perceptual quality with an appreciated peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 91.2 dB and a Mean Square Error (MSE) of 7.5 × 10^–10. The randomness of the resulting encrypted image has successfully passed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) statistical test suite.