Covert channel
Definition
Any pathway used to transfer information outside of intended or visible communication channels. In digital forensics, metadata fields, file-header padding, and unused protocol fields are all potential covert channels.
Related terms
- Carrier (cover object)
- The original file, image, audio recording, or video clip used to conceal the hidden message. The modified version containing the hidden data...
- DCT coefficient manipulation
- A transform-domain technique that embeds data in the discrete cosine transform coefficients of a JPEG block, operating within the compressed representation rather...
- LSB substitution
- A spatial-domain technique that replaces the least-significant bit of each pixel's colour channel with one bit of the payload. Cheap to implement,...
- Payload
- The secret message or data being hidden. Payload capacity is the amount of data that can be embedded without introducing statistically detectable...
- Steganography
- Concealing one file inside another in a way that hides the existence of the hidden file. LSB image manipulation, JPEG DCT coefficient...
Explained in
- Steganography Methods in Images, Audio, and VideoAny pathway used to transfer information outside of intended or visible communication channels. In digital forensics, metadata fields, file-header padding, and...