Steganography: Why it Matters in a 'Post 911' World

Prior to the tragedy of Sept 11, 2001 steganography was barely known outside of academic and security circles. Now, it has become a much-reported element in one of the most significant events in the early 21st century. The ability to hide a text message inside a picture on a PC has gone from an interesting bit of trivia to a communications method possibly used by al-Qaeda as a means to covertly transmit their plans to various terrorist cells. On the global economic front, the use of robust digital watermarks using similar technology is a critical success factor in the multi-billion dollar digital works distribution industry. This paper discusses cryptography attempts that to conceal messages by various translation methods that create new, unrecognizable messages.