Inner layer security reinforcement for instant payment systems: a dual layer encryption-steganography evaluation in...

Area of Science:

• Cybersecurity
• Digital Payments
• Data Protection

Background:

• Real-time digital payment systems face cybersecurity risks from technical, human, and organizational factors.
• Human factors constitute a significant portion (47%) of identified cybersecurity concerns in digital payment environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a dual-layer data protection mechanism for Brunei's digital payment context.
• To combine AES-128 encryption with spread spectrum audio steganography for enhanced security.

Main Methods:

• Conducted stakeholder interviews with key organizations: Cyber Security Brunei (CSB), National Digital Payments Network (NDPx), and a local bank.
• Performed experimental testing using Stripe Sandbox to validate the proposed mechanism within realistic payment workflows.

Main Results:

• Spread spectrum steganography demonstrated an 87.5% robustness rate against eight attack scenarios.
• The system achieved near real-time performance with an average processing time of 568.82 ms and acceptable audio quality (PSNR 26.30 dB).
• Sandbox validation confirmed the feasibility of the dual-layer protection in practical payment scenarios.

Conclusions:

• Data-centric security, integrating encryption and steganography, acts as a viable compensating control against human-dominated cybersecurity threats.
• The combined approach effectively reinforces the security of instant payment systems, addressing both technical and human vulnerabilities.