Hierarchical Deterministic Wallets for Secure Steganography in Blockchain

Abstract

Steganography is a solution for covert communication, and blockchain is a p2p network for data transmission, so the benefits of blockchain can be used in steganography. In this paper, we discuss the advantages of blockchain in steganography, which include the ability to embed hidden data without a manual change in the original data and the readiness of the blockchain platform for data transmission and storage. By reviewing the previous four steganography schemes in blockchain, we have examined their drawback and shown that most of them are non-practical schemes for steganography in the blockchain. We have proposed two algorithms for steganography in blockchain, the first one is a high-capacity algorithm for the key and the steganography algorithm exchange and switching, and the second is a medium-capacity algorithm for embedding hidden data. The proposed method is a general method for steganography in each blockchain, and we investigate how it can be implemented in the two most popular blockchains, Bitcoin and Ethereum. Experimental result shows the efficiency and practicality of the proposed method in terms of execution time, latency, and steganography fee. Finally, we have explained the challenges of steganography in blockchain from the steganographers’ and steganalyzers’ points of view. © 2020 ISC. All rights reserved.