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Vol. 10, No. 3, August 2025

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Optimized Visualization of Digital Image Steganography using Least Significant Bits and AES for Secret Key Encryption

https://doi.org/10.22219/kinetik.v10i3.2252
Cahaya Jatmoko
University of Dian Nuswantroro
Daurat Sinaga
Universitas Dian Nuswantoro
Heru Lestiawan
Universitas Dian Nuswantoro
Erna Zuni Astuti
Universitas Dian Nuswantoro
Christy Atika Sari
Universitas Dian Nuswantoro
Guruh Fajar Shidik
Universitas Dian Nuswantoro
Pulung Nurtantio Andono
Universitas Dian Nuswantoro
Noorayisahbe Mohd Yaacob
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Corresponding Author(s) : Cahaya Jatmoko

cahayajatmoko@dsn.dinus.ac.id

Kinetik: Game Technology, Information System, Computer Network, Computing, Electronics, and Control, Vol. 10, No. 3, August 2025

Abstract

Data hiding is a technique used to embed secret information into a cover medium, such as an image, audio, or video, with minimal distortion, ensuring that the hidden data remains imperceptible to an observer. The key challenge lies in embedding secret information securely while maintaining the original quality of the host medium. In image-based data hiding, this often means ensuring the hidden data cannot be easily detected or extracted while still preserving the visual integrity of the host image. To overcome this, we propose a combination of AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption and Least Significant Bit (LSB) steganography. AES encryption is used to protect the secret images, while the LSB technique is applied to embed the encrypted images into the host images, ensuring secure data transfer. The dataset includes grayscale 256x256 images, specifically "aerial.jpg," "airplane.jpg," and "boat.jpg" as host images, and "Secret1," "Secret2," and "Secret3" as the encrypted secret images. Evaluation metrics such as Mean Squared Error (MSE), Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), Unified Average Changing Intensity (UACI), and Number of Pixels Changed Rate (NPCR) were used to assess both the image quality and security of the stego images. The results showed low MSE (0.0012 to 0.0013), high PSNR (58 dB), and consistent UACI and NPCR values, confirming both the preservation of image quality and the effectiveness of encryption for securing the secret data.

Keywords

Advanced Encryption Standard Data hiding Digital Image Image Steganography Least Significant Bits
Jatmoko, C., Sinaga, D., Lestiawan, H., Astuti, E. Z., Sari, C. A., Shidik, G. F., Andono, P. N., & Yaacob, N. M. (2025). Optimized Visualization of Digital Image Steganography using Least Significant Bits and AES for Secret Key Encryption. Kinetik: Game Technology, Information System, Computer Network, Computing, Electronics, and Control, 10(3), 377-386. https://doi.org/10.22219/kinetik.v10i3.2252
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