Analysis on improved scheme for reversible data hiding for encrypted images

Enormous amounts of electronic data are produced and exchanged each day. However, two main concerns arise wherever electronic data is involved-privacy and security. Apart from protecting information, confidentiality and integrity of the original data should also be preserved. This is where an emerging technology called Reversible Data Hiding (RDH) comes into play. RDH is a method that allows the insertion of information into an encrypted image, without needing to decrypt the image first. It maintains the confidentiality of the data alongside retaining the original image pixels and reducing the degree of distortion. Hence because of its features, RDH proves to be a versatile solution for data transmission. Many reversible data hiding schemes were proposed like bit modification, integer transform-based RDH, error correction coding, etc. However, the main drawbacks were low hiding capacity and high distortion. Hence, steganography with cryptography was proposed. Cryptography encrypts data and is decrypted and processed by the intended users. Steganography hides the messages such that its existence could be detected only by the authorized users. The development of a graphical user interface (GUI) is a highlight of this review, as it showcases the combination of RSA and AES encryption algorithms. The GUI serves as a visual representation of the use of hybrid encryption and steganography to enhance security.