Using Genetic Algorithm and Wisdom of Artificial Crowds to Find Hidden Data in DNA

Recent advances in genetic engineering have allowed the insertion of artificial DNA strands into the living cells of organisms. These advances made it possible to insert information into a DNA sequence for the purpose of data storage, watermarking, or communication of secret messages by using substitution ciphers and other methods. While many algorithms have been developed to hide and insert messages into DNA sequences, there are only few approaches of discovering such messages. The ability to detect, extract, and decode messages from DNA is important for forensic data collection and for data security. One of our goals is the development of a software toolkit that employs a combination of several algorithms to decode a message written in DNA symbols. Genetic Algorithms (GA) have traditionally not been successful in solving substitution ciphers, but we have developed a new approach that uses a GA in combination with the Wisdom of Artificial Crowds post processing Algorithm to

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