Image steganography for wireless networks using the Hadamard transform

The discrete Hadamard transform (DHT) is a simple orthogonal transformation with a set of unique properties. Its 2D version has a separable kernel and can be implemented using fast algorithms. This paper exploits the power of DHT for carrying out steganography using images as containers of hidden information. Computational simplicity and scope for efficient and compact hardware realization makes the scheme suitable for mobile applications. By manipulating different sets of coefficients in the Hadamard transform-domain it is possible to practice steganography satisfying different criteria like transparency, capacity and survivability. It is also shown that this transform has an edge over many other popular transforms for data embedding in real-time over resource constrained wireless networks.