Open AccessEDUCATIONAL EXAMPLE OF INFORMATION MASKING IN THE ACOUSTIC SIGNAL
Author(s) -
M. HOLOVIN,
AUTHOR_ID,
N. HOLOVINA,
AUTHOR_ID
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
naukovì zapiski berdânsʹkogo deržavnogo pedagogìčnogo unìversitetu. pedagogìčnì nauki
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2412-9208
DOI - 10.31494/2412-9208-2021-1-2-203-210
Subject(s) - computer science , audio signal , debugging , code (set theory) , sound card , speech recognition , multimedia , programming language , computer hardware , speech coding , set (abstract data type)
The paper presents a steganographic method of hiding textual information in an audio file. Hiding is implemented by a program in Python. The introduction of individual letters of the text into the sound is carried out by the method of «the least significant bit». The program can be used for both educational and practical purposes. The commonly used wave library was used to work with sound files. It is not a library specialized for cryptographic and steganographic needs. Its use and the conciseness of the program code makes it possible to visualize the mechanism of hiding information in the classroom and demonstrate in the process of creating a program its debugging and testing. It is also important for educational purposes that working within the library allows you to see the state of an empty and filled audio container at the level of individual bits. To assess the practical value of the program, it was tested with texts of different lengths and with sound containers of different grades. In particular, the sound of a tuning fork, the sound of a guitar string, classical music, rap, jazz, and an audiobook were used. The experiment showed the correct reproduction of texts. It was found that if you listen carefully to the «pure sound» of the tuning fork, when the container is overloaded with information, suspicions of a text bookmark may arise. A text bookmark in the sound, in which the volume, tempo and frequency change quickly, does not reveal the suspicion of a possible bookmark. However, if the party who intercepted the masked message has guesses about how to bookmark the text, then the text is easily removed. Therefore, the use of the program for practical purposes requires additional manipulations in the code, in particular related to the order of text input and the choice of location. Additional text encryption is also desirable. Analysis of sound and its manipulation at the level of individual bits also has educational value in the sense that it gives an idea of the noise level, the magnitude of the useful physical signal and the sensitivity of the human ear. Key words: Python language, steganography, hiding information, masking information in an audio file, educational example.