Steganography ,from the Greek, means covered or
secret writing, and is a long-practiced form of hiding information.
Although related to cryptography, they are not the same.
Steganography's intent is to hide the existence of the message, while
cryptography scrambles a message so that it cannot be understood.
Steganography includes a vast array of techniques for hiding messages
in a variety of media. Among these methods are invisible inks,
microdots, digital signatures, covert channels and spread-spectrum
communications. Today, thanks to modern technology, steganography is
used on text, images, sound, signals, and more.
The advantage of steganography is that it can be used to secretly
transmit messages without the fact of the transmission being
discovered. Often, using encryption might identify the sender or
receiver as somebody with something to hide. For example, that picture
of your cat could conceal the plans for your company's latest
technical innovation.
In fact, it is common practice to encrypt the
hidden message before placing it in the cover message. However, it
should be noted that the hidden message does not need to be encrypted
to qualify as steganography. The message itself can be in plain
English and still be a hidden message. However, most steganographers
like the extra layer of protection that encryption provides. If your
hidden message is found, and then at least make it as protected as
possible
