🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <55516@dime.cs.umass.edu>, shri@unreal.cs.umass.edu writes:
|> In article <1992Oct28.134951.29387@nntp.nta.no> styri@nta.no writes:
|> 
|> > b) Will steganography be illegal as well? How should the law
|> >    enforcement agencies _prove_ that steganography was used?
|> 
|> New word to me.. .whats steganography, please ?
|> 
|> -- shrikumar ( shri@legato.cs.umass.edu, shri@iucaa.ernet.in )
|> 
|> PS: Its a new word to random house too !

(It's in Merriam-Webster if that's of any help...)

Steganography may be an archaic word (and substituted by cryptography),
but it serves a purpose. The  first part means `hidden'. The purpose
of this technique is to hide the (encrypted) message.

The modern day purpose is to conceal the fact that there is a message.
You've probably read spy novels describing microdots and how a secret
message is hidden in another innocent looking message. (Not forgetting
all the messages transmitted by for example BBC to agents behind enemy
lines.) I.e., the purpose of steganography is to hide the prescence of
a message.

(There's an urban legend about POWs writing secret messages behind the stamps
 of the letters they were able to send home as well...)

You can read some more about steganography v. cryptography in "Security for
Computer Networks" by Davies and Price (Wiley, 1989, 2nd ed.)

In the light of the Registered Keys thread I believe there is a good reason
to discuss steganography.  How can the govt. tell that there's an encrypted
message if I hide it? How can I prove there is no such message if the govt.
says there is?

---
Haakon Styri
Norwegian Telecom Research