A Robust and Secure Video Steganography Method in DWT-DCT Domains Based on Multiple Object Tracking and ECC

TLDR

Video steganography has attracted attention as a means to covertly embed data, with imperceptibility, capacity, and robustness being key requirements. This work proposes a robust and secure video steganographic algorithm that operates in DWT–DCT domains using multiple‑object tracking and error‑correcting codes. The method preprocesses the secret with Hamming and BCH codes, applies a motion‑based MOT algorithm to identify moving regions, and embeds the encoded data into the DWT and DCT coefficients of those regions guided by foreground masks. Experiments demonstrate that the approach increases embedding capacity and imperceptibility while enhancing security and robustness against various attacks.

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the art of secretly embedding and communicating digital data has gained enormous attention because of the technological development in both digital contents and communication. The imperceptibility, hiding capacity, and robustness against attacks are three main requirements that any video steganography method should take into consideration. In this paper, a robust and secure video steganographic algorithm in discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and discrete cosine transform (DCT) domains based on the multiple object tracking (MOT) algorithm and error correcting codes is proposed. The secret message is preprocessed by applying both Hamming and Bose, Chaudhuri, and Hocquenghem codes for encoding the secret data. First, motion-based MOT algorithm is implemented on host videos to distinguish the regions of interest in the moving objects. Then, the data hiding process is performed by concealing the secret message into the DWT and DCT coefficients of all motion regions in the video depending on foreground masks. Our experimental results illustrate that the suggested algorithm not only improves the embedding capacity and imperceptibility but also enhances its security and robustness by encoding the secret message and withstanding against various attacks.