The rise
of steganography is apparent and so is the efficacy of modern security
researchers. Not long ago, one of the many lucrative researchers confirmed that
one could easily conceal the entire Shakespearean works within an image and can
without suspicion regulate it via Twitter.
Hiding a secret message into something that’s absolutely ordinary and extracting it at the receiver’s end is in layman’s terms what steganography is. This method has proven useful in the distribution of secretive files, messages and data for years via bare means.
In recent time, a JPEG image of Shakespeare was fabricated, which comprised of RAR copies in HTML format of his complete set of work, by a well-known security researcher. He also demonstrated that the very image could be uploaded onto Twitter and would generate a thumbnail still carrying the RAR file which was implanted initially.
A script was fabricated that could transform the multi-fold RAR file to an ICC profile which could further be implanted into the image of Shakespeare. The function of ICC profiles, in general, is to specify the characteristics and colors of input devices that are to be displayed when the extraction happens. 64KB JPEGs work as stores for ICC profiles.
RAR (Roshal Archive) format was used by the said researchers, supposedly, so he could break the RAR into multiple files and accustom them to correspondingly specific sizes.
The entire Shakespearean work could be extracted from the thumbnail by downloading the image, renaming it to a zip file, extricating the zip file and at last, the RAR could be extracted with ease. The command that would help to download the thumbnail in Linux and then unzip the file is:-
curl ‘https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DqteCf6WsAAhqwV.jpg’ > lol.zip && unzip lol.zip
The extraction of the file which would be in a file named Shakespeare.html could be done by using the following command:-
unrar x shakespeare.part001.rar
This process would work smoothly only if the version of Zip and RAR used by the extractor of the image is the same as the one used by the creator of it.
According to reports, it has been mentioned that this Steganography method would contribute a lot to the circulation of secretive and covert messages but it has also been insinuated that the Steganography won’t take a negative turn towards malware dispersal.
