A Discussion of Covert Channels and Steganography

For those whose task it is to assure security, electronic communication without scrutiny that can continue between parties trying to circumvent a security policy poses a risk. This is true whether the ?parties? are individuals with malicious intent or processes with different security levels passing data while running on a shared CPU. Covert communication channels have been present throughout history and continue to be developed, used and sometimes exploited by those intent on keeping their communications not only secret, but also hidden. Awareness has increased in the application of covert channels, fueled by increased demand for development in the field of digital watermarking and fingerprinting for copyright protection and infringement prosecution, and reports of increased use for illegal purposes on the Internet. The technology itself is a double-edged sword.

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