ThermoSteg-Covert Channel for Microbolometer Thermographic Cameras

Area of Science:

• Information Security
• Thermal Imaging Technology
• Data Transmission

Background:

• Steganography is a method for concealing information within other data.
• Thermal imaging cameras capture infrared radiation, producing images of temperature distributions.
• Existing data hiding techniques often rely on visual or digital data manipulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel steganography technique called ThermoSteg.
• To explore the feasibility of using thermal imaging for covert data embedding and transmission.
• To demonstrate a new method for wireless data transmission using thermal sensors.

Main Methods:

• The ThermoSteg method modifies the integration time parameter of a thermal imaging camera.
• Altering integration time causes microbolometer array heating, embedding a signal.
• Covert information is extracted from thermogram streams captured by a secondary thermal camera.

Main Results:

• Successful embedding and extraction of covert information using the ThermoSteg method.
• Demonstration of a covert channel for wireless data transmission via thermal sensors.
• Experimental validation of the physical phenomenon exploited by ThermoSteg.

Conclusions:

• ThermoSteg offers a novel approach to steganography within the field of thermal imaging.
• The technique enables covert data transmission, creating a unique wireless communication channel.
• Further research can explore optimizations and applications of thermal steganography.