Showing papers on "Steganography published in 2020"

A New Payload Partition Strategy in Color Image Steganography

Abstract: In traditional steganographic schemes, RGB three channels payloads are assigned equally in a true color image. In fact, the security of color image steganography relates not only to data-embedding algorithms but also to different payload partition. How to exploit inter-channel correlations to allocate payload for performance enhancement is still an open issue in color image steganography. In this paper, a novel channel-dependent payload partition strategy based on amplifying channel modification probabilities is proposed, so as to adaptively assign the embedding capacity among RGB channels. The modification probabilities of three corresponding pixels in RGB channels are simultaneously increased, and thus the embedding impacts could be clustered, in order to improve the empirical steganographic security against the channel co-occurrences detection. The experimental results show that the new color image steganographic schemes, incorporated with the proposed strategy, can effectively make the embedding changes concentrated mainly in textured regions, and achieve better performance on resisting the modern color image steganalysis.

Depth-Wise Separable Convolutions and Multi-Level Pooling for an Efficient Spatial CNN-Based Steganalysis

Abstract: For steganalysis, many studies showed that convolutional neural network (CNN) has better performances than the two-part structure of traditional machine learning methods. Existing CNN architectures use various tricks to improve the performance of steganalysis, such as fixed convolutional kernels, the absolute value layer, data augmentation and the domain knowledge. However, some designing of the network structure were not extensively studied so far, such as different convolutions (inception, xception, etc.) and variety ways of pooling(spatial pyramid pooling, etc.). In this paper, we focus on designing a new CNN network structure to improve detection accuracy of spatial-domain steganography. First, we use $3\times 3$ kernels instead of the traditional $5\times 5$ kernels and optimize convolution kernels in the preprocessing layer. The smaller convolution kernels are used to reduce the number of parameters and model the features in a small local region. Next, we use separable convolutions to utilize channel correlation of the residuals, compress the image content and increase the signal-to-noise ratio (between the stego signal and the image signal). Then, we use spatial pyramid pooling (SPP) to aggregate the local features and enhance the representation ability of features by multi-level pooling. Finally, data augmentation is adopted to further improve network performance. The experimental results show that the proposed CNN structure is significantly better than other five methods such as SRM, Ye-Net, Xu-Net, Yedroudj-Net and SRNet, when it is used to detect three spatial algorithms such as WOW, S-UNIWARD and HILL with a wide variety of datasets and payloads.

An Embedding Cost Learning Framework Using GAN

Abstract: Successful adaptive steganography has mainly focused on embedding the payload while minimizing an appropriately defined distortion function. The application of deep learning to steganalysis has greatly challenged present adaptive steganographic methods, but has also shown the potential for the improvement of steganography. This paper proposes a distortion function generating a framework for steganography. It has three modules: a generator with a U-Net architecture to translate a cover image into an embedding change probability map, a no-pre-training-required double-tanh function to approximate the optimal embedding simulator while preserving gradient norm during backpropagation in the adversarial training, and an enhanced steganalyzer based on a convolution neural network together with multiple high pass filters as the discriminator. Extensive experimental results on different datasets have shown that the proposed framework outperforms the current state-of-the-art steganographic schemes. Moreover, the adversarial training time is reduced dramatically compared with the GAN-based automatic steganographic distortion learning framework (ASDL-GAN).

Steganographic generative adversarial networks

Abstract: Steganography is collection of methods to hide secret information (“payload”) within non-secret information “container”). Its counterpart, Steganalysis, is the practice of determining if a message contains a hidden payload, and recovering it if possible. Presence of hidden payloads is typically detected by a binary classifier. In the present study, we propose a new model for generating image-like containers based on Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Networks (DCGAN). This approach allows to generate more setganalysis-secure message embedding using standard steganography algorithms. Experiment results demonstrate that the new model successfully deceives the steganography analyzer, and for this reason, can be used in steganographic applications.

Securing Data in Internet of Things (IoT) Using Cryptography and Steganography Techniques

Abstract: Internet of Things (IoT) is a domain wherein which the transfer of data is taking place every single second. The security of these data is a challenging task; however, security challenges can be mitigated with cryptography and steganography techniques. These techniques are crucial when dealing with user authentication and data privacy. In the proposed work, the elliptic Galois cryptography protocol is introduced and discussed. In this protocol, a cryptography technique is used to encrypt confidential data that came from different medical sources. Next, a Matrix XOR encoding steganography technique is used to embed the encrypted data into a low complexity image. The proposed work also uses an optimization algorithm called Adaptive Firefly to optimize the selection of cover blocks within the image. Based on the results, various parameters are evaluated and compared with the existing techniques. Finally, the data that is hidden in the image is recovered and is then decrypted.

Reversible Image Steganography Using Dual-Layer LSB Matching

Abstract: Recently, reversible information hiding (RIH) methods have drawn substantial attention in many privacy-sensitive real-time applications, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) enabled communications, electronic health care infrastructure, and military applications. The RIH methods are proven to be competent in such hyper-sensitive infrastructures where the loss of a single bit of information is not acceptable. In this paper, dual-layered based RIH method using modified least significant bit (LSB) matching has been proposed. The objective of the proposed work is to enhance the embedding efficiency (EE) using dual-layer based embedding strategy and to curtail the distortion caused to the stego-image to improve its quality. At the first layer of embedding, each pixel conceals two bits of information using the proposed modified LSB matching method to produce the intermediate pixel pair (IPP). Further, the IPP is utilized to conceal four bits of information during the next layer of embedding. Experimental study reveals that, the proposed method can embed 1,572,864 bits of secret data with peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 47.86 dB, 48.05 dB, 46.51 dB and 48.14 dB, for the respective images. Further, the image quality assessment parameters like structural similarity (SSIM) index and universal image quality index (Q) are as good as the existing literature. Additionally, the proposed method shows excellent anti-steganalysis ability to regular and singular (RS) and pixel difference histogram (PDH) analysis.

Coverless steganography based on image retrieval of DenseNet features and DWT sequence mapping

Abstract: Recently, researches have shown that coverless image steganography can resist the existing steganalysis tools effectively. On this basis, a novel coverless image steganography algorithm based on image retrieval of DenseNet features and DWT sequence mapping is proposed in this paper. Firstly, DenseNet convolutional neural network model in deep learning is used to extract the features of image datasets. Supervised learning is adopted to retrieve the image, and the retrieval results can be used as the information carrier. Secondly, the selected images are divided into 4 × 4 sub-blocks for block discrete wavelet transform. Then the D W T coefficient are calculated based on the low-frequency components after block transformation, and the coefficients between blocks are scanned according to the Zigzag scan, such that the robust feature sequences are generated. Finally, the secret information is divided into segments with the same length as the feature sequence, and an inverted index is established with feature sequence, the position of blocks, D W T coefficient and image path. The image with the same feature sequence as the secret information segment is selected through index as the carriers. The experimental results and analysis show that this method has better robust and security performance resisting most image attacks compared with the state-of-the-art methods.

Hiding shares by multimedia image steganography for optimized counting-based secret sharing

Abstract: The secret sharing scheme is a data security tool that provides reliability and robustness for multi-user authentication systems. This work focus on improving the counting-based secret sharing technique for higher shares security as well as simple and fast computation. The research considers resolving some originally published defects in the shares reconstruction phase by proposing a new distribution model. This distribution model has been optimized practical and efficient. Also, the shares reconstruction model reflects increasing the security of the system by shares authenticity via steganography. We have employed multimedia image-based steganography methods to store the optimized shares that is presenting comparisons for proofed remarks. The paper experimentations tests the work of the enhancements by assuming different secret sharing key sizes of 64-bit, 128-bit, and 256-bit to make sure of practical variations within the security study. The shares usability has been further optimized by testing embedding each generated share using five different techniques of image-based steganography. The results showed a significant attractive impact making the optimized counting-based secret sharing scheme considered a promising solution for multi-user authentication security applications. This optimized system has been analyzed according to the distortion security and capacity parameters showing attractive contributions opening the research direction for further research to come.

Efficient Implementation of Multi-image Secret Hiding Based on LSB and DWT Steganography Comparisons

Abstract: The protection of confidential information transmitted over the Internet and restricting access to specific classified data have become a major security and privacy issue. To conceal the existence of such data, digital image steganography is employed hiding the secret in questions within a cover image, arriving at a new image that is virtually indistinguishable from the original. Thus, concealed data within the cover image is prevented from being detected via unauthorized access. In light of the above, certain aspects, such as the capacity of the cover image and the imperceptibility, need to be analyzed and addressed as they constitute the crucial assessment parameters for the performance of the steganography algorithms. In this paper, we compare the steganography algorithms of least significant bit and discrete wavelet transform in terms of efficiency and capacity of concealing multiple images within a single cover image. We cover the mechanism of the embedding and extraction algorithms for multiple numbers of images to come up with knowledgeable remarks. Furthermore, performance of these stego-algorithms has been evaluated with regard to the capacity of the cover image, imperceptibility of the data, and security.

A Robust Quasi-Quantum Walks-Based Steganography Protocol for Secure Transmission of Images on Cloud-Based E-healthcare Platforms.

Abstract: Traditionally, tamper-proof steganography involves using efficient protocols to encrypt the stego cover image and/or hidden message prior to embedding it into the carrier object. However, as the inevitable transition to the quantum computing paradigm beckons, its immense computing power will be exploited to violate even the best non-quantum, i.e., classical, stego protocol. On its part, quantum walks can be tailored to utilise their astounding ‘quantumness’ to propagate nonlinear chaotic behaviours as well as its sufficient sensitivity to alterations in primary key parameters both important properties for efficient information security. Our study explores using a classical (i.e., quantum-inspired) rendition of the controlled alternate quantum walks (i.e., CAQWs) model to fabricate a robust image steganography protocol for cloud-based E-healthcare platforms by locating content that overlays the secret (or hidden) bits. The design employed in our technique precludes the need for pre and/or post encryption of the carrier and secret images. Furthermore, our design simplifies the process to extract the confidential (hidden) information since only the stego image and primary states to run the CAQWs are required. We validate our proposed protocol on a dataset of medical images, which exhibited remarkable outcomes in terms of their security, good visual quality, high resistance to data loss attacks, high embedding capacity, etc., making the proposed scheme a veritable strategy for efficient medical image steganography.

A New High Capacity Image Steganography Method Combined With Image Elliptic Curve Cryptography and Deep Neural Network

Abstract: Image steganography is a technology that hides sensitive information into an image. The traditional image steganography method tends to securely embed secret information in the host image so that the payload capacity is almost ignored and the steganographic image quality needs to be improved for the Human Visual System(HVS). Therefore, in this work, we propose a new high capacity image steganography method based on deep learning. The Discrete Cosine Transform(DCT) is used to transform the secret image, and then the transformed image is encrypted by Elliptic Curve Cryptography(ECC) to improve the anti-detection property of the obtained image. To improve steganographic capacity, the SegNet Deep Neural Network with a set of Hiding and Extraction networks enables steganography and extraction of full-size images. The experimental results show that the method can effectively allocate each pixel in the image so that the relative capacity of steganography reaches 1. Besides, the image obtained using this steganography method has higher Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio(PSNR) and Structural Similarity Index(SSIM) values, reaching 40dB and 0.96, respectively.

A convolutional neural network-based linguistic steganalysis for synonym substitution steganography.

Abstract: In this paper, a linguistic steganalysis method based on two-level cascaded convolutional neural networks (CNNs) is proposed to improve the system's ability to detect stego texts, which are generated via synonym substitutions. The first-level network, sentence-level CNN, consists of one convolutional layer with multiple convolutional kernels in different window sizes, one pooling layer to deal with variable sentence lengths, and one fully connected layer with dropout as well as a softmax output, such that two final steganographic features are obtained for each sentence. The unmodified and modified sentences, along with their words, are represented in the form of pre-trained dense word embeddings, which serve as the input of the network. Sentence-level CNN provides the representation of a sentence, and can thus be utilized to predict whether a sentence is unmodified or has been modified by synonym substitutions. In the second level, a text-level CNN exploits the predicted representations of sentences obtained from the sentence-level CNN to determine whether the detected text is a stego text or cover text. Experimental results indicate that the proposed sentence-level CNN can effectively extract sentence features for sentence-level steganalysis tasks and reaches an average accuracy of 82.245%. Moreover, the proposed steganalysis method achieves greatly improved detection performance when distinguishing stego texts from cover texts.

Deep learning in steganography and steganalysis

Abstract: For almost 10 years, the detection of a hidden message in an image has been mainly carried out by the computation of rich models (RMs), followed by classification using an ensemble classifier (EC). In 2015 the first study using a convolutional neural network (CNN) obtained the first results of steganalysis by deep learning approaching the performances of the two-step approach (EC + RM). During 2015–2018, numerous publications have shown that it is possible to obtain improved performances, notably in spatial steganalysis, JPEG steganalysis, selection-channel-aware steganalysis, and quantitative steganalysis. This chapter deals with deep learning in steganalysis from the point of view of current methods, by presenting different neural networks from the period 2015–2018, evaluated with a methodology specific to the discipline of steganalysis. We do not intend to repeat the basic concepts of machine learning or deep learning. So we will present the structure of a deep neural network in a generic way and present the networks proposed in the existing literature for different scenarios of steganalysis, and finally, we will discuss steganography by deep learning.

Multiple Robustness Enhancements for Image Adaptive Steganography in Lossy Channels

Abstract: Considering that traditional image steganography technologies suffer from the potential risk of failure under lossy channels, an enhanced adaptive steganography with multiple robustness against image processing attacks is proposed, while maintaining good detection resistance. First, a robust domain constructing method is proposed utilizing robust element extraction and optimal element modification, which can be applied to both spatial and JPEG images. Then, a robust steganography is proposed based on “Robust Domain Constructing + RS-STC Codes,” combined with cover selection, robust cover extraction, message coding, and embedding with minimized costs. In addition, to provide a theoretical basis for message extraction integrity, the fault tolerance of the proposed algorithm is deduced using error model based on burst errors and decoding damage. Finally, on the basis of parameter discussion about robust domain construction, performance experiments are conducted, and the recommended coding parameters are given for lossy channels with different attacks using the analytic results for fault tolerance. A series of experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can extract embedded messages with significantly higher accuracy after different attacks, such as compression, noising, scaling and other attacks, compared with the state-of-the-art adaptive steganography, and robust watermarking algorithms, while maintaining good detection resistant performance.

Recent Advances of Image Steganography with Generative Adversarial Networks

Abstract: In the past few years, the Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), which proposed in 2014, has achieved great success. There have been increasing research achievements based on GAN in the field of computer vision and natural language processing. Image steganography is an information security technique aiming at hiding secret messages in common digital images for covert communication. Recently, research on image steganography has demonstrated great potential by introducing GAN and other neural network techniques. In this paper, we review the art of steganography with GANs according to the different strategies in data hiding, which are cover modification, cover selection, and cover synthesis. We discuss the characteristics of the three strategies of GAN-based steganography and analyze their evaluation metrics. Finally, some existing problems of image steganography with GAN are summarized and discussed. Potential future research topics are also forecasted.

A Novel Convolutional Neural Network for Image Steganalysis With Shared Normalization

Abstract: Image steganalysis is to discriminate innocent images (cover images) and those suspected images (stego images) with hidden messages. The task is challenging since modifications to cover images due to message hiding are extremely small. To handle this difficulty, modern approaches proposed using convolutional neural network (CNN) models to detect steganography with paired learning, i.e., cover images and their stegos are both in training set. In this paper, we explore an important technique in CNN models, the batch normalization (BN), for the task of image steganalysis in the paired learning framework. Our theoretical analysis shows that a CNN model with multiple batch normalization layers is difficult to be generalized to new data in the test set when it is well trained with paired learning. To address this problem, we propose a novel normalization technique called shared normalization (SN) in this paper. Unlike the BN layer utilizing the mini-batch mean and standard deviation to normalize each input batch, SN shares consistent statistics for training samples. Based on the proposed SN layer, we further propose a novel neural network model for image steganalysis. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed network with SN layers is stable and can detect the state-of-the-art steganography with better performances than previous methods.

Novel Linguistic Steganography Based on Character-Level Text Generation

Abstract: With the development of natural language processing, linguistic steganography has become a research hotspot in the field of information security. However, most existing linguistic steganographic methods may suffer from the low embedding capacity problem. Therefore, this paper proposes a character-level linguistic steganographic method (CLLS) to embed the secret information into characters instead of words by employing a long short-term memory (LSTM) based language model. First, the proposed method utilizes the LSTM model and large-scale corpus to construct and train a character-level text generation model. Through training, the best evaluated model is obtained as the prediction model of generating stego text. Then, we use the secret information as the control information to select the right character from predictions of the trained character-level text generation model. Thus, the secret information is hidden in the generated text as the predicted characters having different prediction probability values can be encoded into different secret bit values. For the same secret information, the generated stego texts vary with the starting strings of the text generation model, so we design a selection strategy to find the highest quality stego text from a number of candidate stego texts as the final stego text by changing the starting strings. The experimental results demonstrate that compared with other similar methods, the proposed method has the fastest running speed and highest embedding capacity. Moreover, extensive experiments are conducted to verify the effect of the number of candidate stego texts on the quality of the final stego text. The experimental results show that the quality of the final stego text increases with the number of candidate stego texts increasing, but the growth rate of the quality will slow down.

Hiding Shares of Counting-Based Secret Sharing via Arabic Text Steganography for Personal Usage

Abstract: This paper presented new models to hide sensitive data via Arabic text steganography. The models are structured to serve personal remembrance of secret shares to be used within counting-based secret sharing technique. This research hides secret shares adopting humanized remembrance tool to serve uncontrolled assigned shares, which are generated from the security system via automatically authentic target key generation process. The shares in their original secret sharing process are challenging to be memorized unlike normal password assignment that is enjoying the full personal selection. Therefore, our models for hiding secret shares are proposed to be hidden inside the personally chosen texts utilizing improved Arabic text steganography. This steganography models study is based on Kashida extension character used redundant within Arabic writing text. The research tests our two proposed modifications to original Arabic text steganography all serving secret sharing on the same text database. The comparisons examined the different models on the same benchmark of Imam Nawawi’s forty hadeeth collected by Islamic Scholar: Yahya ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi as standard text statements (40 Prophet Hadiths) showing interesting results and promising research contributions.

Secret images transfer in cloud system based on investigating quantum walks in steganography approaches

Abstract: The central role of the cloud data warehouse is to ensure the security of confidential data that can be achieved via techniques of steganography and cryptography. Amidst the growth of quantum computation, modern data security tools may be cracked because of its structure based on mathematical computations. Quantum walk (QW) acts as a vital role in designing quantum algorithms, which is a universal computational model. Therefore, we allocate the advantages of QWs to design a QWs-based novel image steganography mechanism for cloud systems, which the embedding/extraction process for the secret object is based on quantum concepts. The presented technique has three algorithms of image steganography. The core idea for presenting these algorithms is to embed the sensitive object into the host media without a pre-encryption process for the secret data, which its security and embedding procedures are entirely based on quantum walks. As well opens the door for quantum technologies to be combined with information hiding techniques to achieve better security. The presented technique uses gray-scale or color images as a confidential object to be hidden into the carrier image, as well the embedded object can be any data, e.g. text or audio files and not restricted to image files. Security analysis and experimental results confirm that the suggested algorithms have good visual quality and high-security based on QWs as well high embedding capacity.

Adaptive Batch Size Image Merging Steganography and Quantized Gaussian Image Steganography

Abstract: In digital image steganography, the statistical model of an image is essential for hiding data in less detectable regions and achieving better security. This has been addressed in the literature where different cost-based and statistical model-based approaches were proposed. However, due to the usage of heuristically defined distortions and non-constrained message models, resulting in numerically solvable equations, there is no closed-form expression for security as a function of payload. The closed-form expression is crucial for a better insight into image steganography problem and also improving performance of batch steganography algorithms. Here, we develop a statistical framework for image steganography in which the cover and the stego messages are modeled as multivariate Gaussian random variables. We propose a novel Gaussian embedding model by maximizing the detection error of the most common optimal detectors within the adopted statistical model. Furthermore, we extend the formulation to cost-based steganography, resulting in a universal embedding scheme that improves empirical results of current cost-based and statistical model-based approaches. This methodology and its presented solution, by reason of assuming a continuous hidden message, remains the same for any embedding scenario. Afterward, the closed-form detection error is derived within the adopted model for image steganography and it is extended to batch steganography. Thus, we introduce Adaptive Batch size Image Merging steganographer, AdaBIM , and mathematically prove it outperforms the state-of-the-art batch steganography method and further verify its superiority by experiments.

ALASKA#2: Challenging Academic Research on Steganalysis with Realistic Images

Abstract: This paper briefly summarizes the ALASKA#2 steganalysis challenge which has been organized on the Kaggle machine learning competition platform. We especially focus on the context, the organization (rules, timeline, evaluation and material) as well as on the outcome (number of competitors, submission, findings, and final results). While both steganography and steganalysis were new to most of the competitors, they were able to leverage their skills in Deep Learning in order to design detection methods that perform significantly better than current art in steganalysis. Despite the fact that these solutions come at an important computational cost, they clearly indicate new directions to explore in steganalysis research.

An image steganography approach based on k-least significant bits (k-LSB)

Abstract: Image steganography is the operation of hiding a message into a cover image. the message can be text, codes, or image. Hiding an image into another is the proposed approach in this paper. Based on LSB coding, a k-LSB-based method is proposed using k least bits to hide the image. For decoding the hidden image, a region detection operation is used to know the blocks contains the hidden image. The resolution of stego image can be affected, for that, an image quality enhancement method is used to enhance the image resolution. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, we compare it with some of the state-of-the-art methods.

Digital steganography and watermarking for digital images: a review of current research directions

Abstract: The development of information technology has led to a significant increase in the share of multimedia traffic in data networks. This has necessitated to solve the following information security tasks in relation to multimedia data: protection against leakage of confidential information, as well as identifying the source of the leak; ensuring the impossibility of unauthorized changes; copyright protection for digital objects. To solve such kind of problems, methods of steganography and watermarking are designed that implement embedding in digital objects hidden information sequences for various purposes. In this paper, an overview of promising research in the specified area is provided. First of all, we provide basic information about this field of research and consider the main applications of its methods. Next, we review works demonstrating current trends in the development of methods and algorithms for data hiding in digital images. This review is not exhaustive; it focuses on contemporary works illustrating current research directions in the field of information embedding in digital images. This is the main feature of review, which distinguishes it from previously published reviews. The paper concludes with an analysis of identified problems in the field of digital steganography and digital watermarking.

Adversarial Learning for Invertible Steganography

Abstract: Deep neural networks have revolutionised the research landscape of steganography. However, their potential has not been explored in invertible steganography, a special class of methods that permits the recovery of distorted objects due to steganographic perturbations to their pristine condition. In this paper, we revisit the regular-singular (RS) method and show that this elegant but obsolete invertible steganographic method can be reinvigorated and brought forwards to modern generation via neuralisation . Towards developing a renewed RS method, we introduce adversarial learning to capture the regularity of natural images automatically in contrast to handcrafted discrimination functions based on heuristic image prior. Specifically, we train generative adversarial networks (GANs) to predict bit-planes that have been used to carry hidden information. We then form a synthetic image and use it as a reference to provide guidance on data embedding and image recovery. Experimental results showed a significant improvement over the prior implementation of the RS method based on large-scale statistical evaluations.

Audio Steganography Based on Iterative Adversarial Attacks Against Convolutional Neural Networks

Abstract: Recently, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have demonstrated superior performance on digital multimedia steganalysis. However, some studies have noted that most CNN-based classifiers can be easily fooled by adversarial examples, which form slightly perturbed inputs to a target network according to the gradients. Inspired by this phenomenon, we first introduce a novel steganography method based on adversarial examples for digital audio in the time domain. Unlike related methods for image steganography, such as [1] – [4] , which are highly dependent on some existing embedding costs, the proposed method can start from a flat or even a random embedding cost and then iteratively update the initial costs by exploiting the adversarial attacks until satisfactory security performances are obtained. The extensive experimental results show that our method significantly outperforms the existing nonadaptive and adaptive steganography methods and achieves state-of-the-art results. Moreover, we also provide experimental results to investigate why the proposed embedding modifications seem evenly located at all audio segments despite their different content complexities, which is contrary to the content adaptive principle widely employed in modern steganography methods.

UDH: Universal Deep Hiding for Steganography, Watermarking, and Light Field Messaging.

Abstract: Neural networks have been shown effective in deep steganography for hiding a full image in another. However, the reason for its success remains not fully clear. Under the existing cover (C) dependent deep hiding (DDH) pipeline, it is challenging to analyze how the secret (S) image is encoded since the encoded message cannot be analyzed independently. We propose a novel universal deep hiding (UDH) meta-architecture to disentangle the encoding of S from C. We perform extensive analysis and demonstrate that the success of deep steganography can be attributed to a frequency discrepancy between C and the encoded secret image. Despite S being hidden in a cover-agnostic manner, strikingly, UDH achieves a performance comparable to the existing DDH. Beyond hiding one image, we push the limits of deep steganography. Exploiting its property of being universal, we propose universal watermarking as a timely solution to address the concern of the exponentially increasing number of images and videos. UDH is robust to a pixel intensity shift on the container image, which makes it suitable for challenging application of light field messaging (LFM). Our work is the first to demonstrate the success of (DNN-based) hiding a full image for watermarking and LFM. Code: https://github.com/ChaoningZhang/Universal-Deep-Hiding