Open Access

ARTICLE

A Shuffling-Steganography Algorithm to Protect Data of Drone Applications

Ahamad B. Alkodre¹, Nour Mahmoud Bahbouh², Sandra Sendra³, Adnan Ahmed Abi Sen^4,*, Yazed Alsaawy¹, Saad Said Alqahtany¹, Abdallah Namoun¹, Hani Almoamari¹

1 Faculty of Computer and Information Systems, Islamic University, Al-Madinah, 42351, Saudi Arabia
2 Department of Information and Communication Sciences, Granada University, Granada, 18071, Spain
3 Instituto de Investigación para la Gestión Integrada de Zonas Costeras, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, 46730, Spain
4 Department of Graduate Studies & Scientific Research, University of Prince Mugrin, Al-Madinah, 42351, Saudi Arabia

* Corresponding Author: Adnan Ahmed Abi Sen. Email:

Computers, Materials & Continua 2024, 81(2), 2727-2751. https://doi.org/10.32604/cmc.2024.053706

Received 08 May 2024; Accepted 27 September 2024; Issue published 18 November 2024

Abstract

In Saudi Arabia, drones are increasingly used in different sensitive domains like military, health, and agriculture to name a few. Typically, drone cameras capture aerial images of objects and convert them into crucial data, alongside collecting data from distributed sensors supplemented by location data. The interception of the data sent from the drone to the station can lead to substantial threats. To address this issue, highly confidential protection methods must be employed. This paper introduces a novel steganography approach called the Shuffling Steganography Approach (SSA). SSA encompasses five fundamental stages and three proposed algorithms, designed to enhance security through strategic encryption and data hiding techniques. Notably, this method introduces advanced resistance to brute force attacks by employing predefined patterns across a wide array of images, complicating unauthorized access. The initial stage involves encryption, dividing, and disassembling the encrypted data. A small portion of the encrypted data is concealed within the text (Algorithm 1) in the third stage. Subsequently, the parts are merged and mixed (Algorithm 2), and finally, the composed text is hidden within an image (Algorithm 3). Through meticulous investigation and comparative analysis with existing methodologies, the proposed approach demonstrates superiority across various pertinent criteria, including robustness, secret message size capacity, resistance to multiple attacks, and multilingual support.

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Keywords

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