4 ms·

Secret data found in 14% of 156 random images on ebaumsworld.com

17 points by _5llr 7y ago

lysp 7y ago
https://web.archive.org/web/20191215221905/http://www.deepsteg.com/domain/www.ebaumsworld.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20191215221905/http://www.deepst...
jerrysievert 7y ago
the article says 0.14% (0.14102564102564102%), not 14%. that's quite the difference from the current HN title claiming 14%. editing to add that since this comment, the "article" has been updated to say "14%", but the actual math still doesn't fit that assertion.
- paulcole 7y ago
  After looking at the archive.org link, claiming that it’s an article is the bigger stretch. https://web.archive.org/web/20191215221905/http://www.deepsteg.com/domain/www.ebaumsworld.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20191215221905/http://www.deepst...
dclusin 7y ago
There's a github repor [1] of a similar name that implements steganography using a method described by a paper[2]. Is this website just finding images that have messages encoded using this package? The website is down, idk. Also I thought the point of steganography was plausible deniability. How are they able to detect secret messages? [1] - https://github.com/fpingham/DeepSteg https://github.com/fpingham/DeepSteg [2] - https://papers.nips.cc/paper/6802-hiding-images-in-plain-sight-deep-steganography.pdf https://papers.nips.cc/paper/6802-hiding-images-in-plain-sig...
- _5llr 7y ago
  No, check out the github repo for deepsteg.com, https://github.com/mikejohnsonjr/deepsteg https://github.com/mikejohnsonjr/deepsteg (linked in the navbar)
- Igelau 7y ago
  My understanding is that you can generate a statistical model of what a "natural" image is supposed to look like, and if something deviates from this model, it may tell that there's something hidden in it. It doesn't say what is hidden or how to decode it, but it can indicate that something is there. E.g. there are certain coefficients in a JPEG that should fit a symmetrical curve, and the old JSteg tool used to break that symmetry while flipping bits to hide the payload. You couldn't tell by just looking at the image, but there were clear signs in the statistics.
DEADBEEFC0FFEE 7y ago
I'm not sure I agree with the deepsteg project. From the website : "Fighting crime online Steganography is used by criminals to send messages to other criminals secretly. It is used by terrorists, pedophiles, and other criminals. Spreading awareness and providing tools to expose hidden data can help fight crime. " I can think of several reasons people might use steganography, most involve personal freedom and safety.

17 points by _5llr 7y ago

lysp 7y ago

https://web.archive.org/web/20191215221905/http://www.deepsteg.com/domain/www.ebaumsworld.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20191215221905/http://www.deepst...

jerrysievert 7y ago

the article says 0.14% (0.14102564102564102%), not 14%. that's quite the difference from the current HN title claiming 14%. editing to add that since this comment, the "article" has been updated to say "14%", but the actual math still doesn't fit that assertion.

paulcole 7y ago
After looking at the archive.org link, claiming that it’s an article is the bigger stretch. https://web.archive.org/web/20191215221905/http://www.deepsteg.com/domain/www.ebaumsworld.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20191215221905/http://www.deepst...

dclusin 7y ago

There's a github repor [1] of a similar name that implements steganography using a method described by a paper[2]. Is this website just finding images that have messages encoded using this package? The website is down, idk. Also I thought the point of steganography was plausible deniability. How are they able to detect secret messages? [1] - https://github.com/fpingham/DeepSteg https://github.com/fpingham/DeepSteg [2] - https://papers.nips.cc/paper/6802-hiding-images-in-plain-sight-deep-steganography.pdf https://papers.nips.cc/paper/6802-hiding-images-in-plain-sig...

_5llr 7y ago
No, check out the github repo for deepsteg.com, https://github.com/mikejohnsonjr/deepsteg https://github.com/mikejohnsonjr/deepsteg (linked in the navbar)
Igelau 7y ago
My understanding is that you can generate a statistical model of what a "natural" image is supposed to look like, and if something deviates from this model, it may tell that there's something hidden in it. It doesn't say what is hidden or how to decode it, but it can indicate that something is there. E.g. there are certain coefficients in a JPEG that should fit a symmetrical curve, and the old JSteg tool used to break that symmetry while flipping bits to hide the payload. You couldn't tell by just looking at the image, but there were clear signs in the statistics.

DEADBEEFC0FFEE 7y ago

I'm not sure I agree with the deepsteg project. From the website : "Fighting crime online Steganography is used by criminals to send messages to other criminals secretly. It is used by terrorists, pedophiles, and other criminals. Spreading awareness and providing tools to expose hidden data can help fight crime. " I can think of several reasons people might use steganography, most involve personal freedom and safety.