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First Steganographic Image Found In The Wild

Posted by timothy on from the monkeying-with-images dept.

Niels Provos writes: "After months of searching for steganographic content on eBay and elsewhere -- downloading millions of images, we were finally able to find an image with a stegangraphic message hidden in it. Stegdetect and Stegbreak made short process with it. It took less than a second to compute the secret key necessary to extract the hidden message. Two commands at the prompt, and we found the hidden message to be an image of B-52 scrapyard. Right off Terraserver."

26 of 306 comments (clear)

  1. at the risk of sounding stupid. by Brigadier · · Score: 1, Offtopic



    what exactly is the purpose of this. After perusing the site i'm not exactly sure what the purpose of this is. at first i thought it was related to terrorist hiding information in images on the internet. can someone shed some light of this situation.

  2. first post? by caballero19 · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    bkw oooohhhhh

  3. Mirrors of Image Anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    The image is being slashdotted it seems.

  4. What was It..the Message was /.'ed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    What was It..the Message was /.'ed

  5. the $$$ you want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    So, did you fund this? Did I?

  6. hmm by ByteHog · · Score: 2, Offtopic

    "of course we needed to visit all these pr0n sites! that's where 70% of all the images on the web are!"

    --
    - This isn't the sig you're looking for. Move along, move along..
  7. yeah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    you go girl!

  8. wasn't this on ABC already? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    FP!

  9. what does it all mean basil? by cfadam · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    C'mon, this all seems a bit paranoid..

  10. Even psychics are right every now and then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Even a psychic can be right ONCE in a million!

  11. slashdotted already? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Man, how is this already slashdotted?

    :\

  12. If I ever meet Tom Daschle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I will kick his goat!!!

  13. [OT] Hunter Thompson... Why? by The+Intrepid+Travell · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Your sig is a famous Hunter Thompson quote, which got me thinking...

    Why do people respect this drug crazy retard. It's not like he's a good writer, and most of his stuff he admits to making up. What is the draw?

    Is it some sort of MTV-esque "Look at how bad I am, I like Thompson!' thing?

    Seriously, this isn't a flame. Just curious.

    --

    1. Re:[OT] Hunter Thompson... Why? by revscat · · Score: 2, Offtopic

      Is it some sort of MTV-esque "Look at how bad I am, I like Thompson!' thing?

      Perhaps partially. I admire and respect Thompson because gonzo journalism was, at its onset, a new and refreshing change from more traditional reporting styles. It was a partially successful experiment, and worthy of trying.

      But perhaps more importantly I admire anyone who is able to flagrantly flout society's conventions and morality and be successful doing so. Since the mainstream media continues to hound upon the virtues of leading a pure and chaste life, it is refreshing to have someone show that extreme debauchery does not necessarily lead to a life of tragedy, if you are smart about it. I don't consider him a "drug crazy retard", but a journalist who has pursued (and abandoned) some interesting styles and who is a better-than-average writer.

      What have you read by him?

  14. Re:Yeah, except for... by stilwebm · · Score: 3, Offtopic

    While the above post was meant to be humorous, it brings up an important point. The Taliban doesn't always utilize the most high tech tools, and for good reasons - they are often easy to track and/or detect. Instead, they are likely to use low tech mothods to hide their messages. Certain phrases, for example, in bin Laden's statements quite possible are intended to send an additional pre-defined meaning. This is something that only human reconnaissance can effectively decode.

  15. Fear and Loathing by wiredog · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I think I read that back in 79? 80? Anyway, it was before everyone tried to be "gonzo". Back in the days when Rolling Stone was actually worth reading. Besides, that line in my sig describes much of my life...

    --

    Best Slashdot Co
  16. Re:Super Troll by The+Intrepid+Travell · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    It's an embarassment.

    No kidding! I clicked the link as was like, "Err... am I missing something?"

    Good to see I wasn't totally nuts-o. Wonder if any of the editors _read_ the page?

    Oh well, at least there were no spelling errors, right? At least?

    Ahh... who am I kidding?

    --

  17. My Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Next someone will find some of the fictional "Super Heroin" that ibn Laden was planning to unleash on America. This despite the facts:

    • Potency can never be greater than 100%
    • The drugs are smuggled from the country of origin in their purest form. This minimizes volume and should decrease the likelihood of getting busted. This is according to our D.E.A. So, how could potency be further increased?
    • Afghanistan was the largest producer of opium until the most recent drought started four years ago. Now it is Columbia (according to the Cocaine Import Agency)
    • The unanimous consensus of all gov/non-gov watchdogs (even our D.E.A.) is that the Taleban has virtually eliminated opium production
    • Opium is planted during late fall and harvested during late spring. Keep in mind the worsening drought and lack of irrigation systems. There is no opium in Afghanistan from which to produce heroin. The Major Media® seems to not have a clue
    • The largest opium-producing country in the region is Uzbekistan (sic), which has become a base for American troops. During the VietNam war, we used Laos and Cambodia for our troop bases and smuggled opium all over the place. History has a way of repeating itself
    • All experts (medical and non-medical) I have consulted see the whole "Super Heroin" scare as the most preposterous drug scare to date
  18. show me the monkey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Ummm. instead of bitching about people not showing you anything, why not go find one yourself or at least help others find these things before it's too late to do anything about them?

  19. Re:Yeah, except for... by MindStalker · · Score: 2, Offtopic

    For some reason, I'm addicted to responding to flamage. Anyways I just wanted to point out that the US really doesn't want Bin Laden handed over. Because the war is against the Al-Qaeda network as a whole. If Bin Laden was removed, it would do absolutly nothing but remove a figure head. And would at the same time cause much support to be withdrawn, as much of the mindset of the people is against the one person. Untill that mindset can be changed, it would be a win for Al-Qaeda to hand over Bin Laden. So why would the US want to give the Al-Qaeda proof, and risk having such an event happen.

  20. I guess my question is... by sirgoran · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    If I use some of this software, will my wife really believe that the 12MB photo of the cute bunny rabbit isn't really an mpeg of 'Debbie does Dallas." But at least I'll be able to hide the rest of the pictures. Unless she starts wondering why I've suddenly started collecting photos of nature.

    Goran

    --
    Carpe Scrotum - The only way to deal with your competition.
  21. Re:Oh great... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Unknown to you, fully half the posts on slashdot have a steganographic penis bird in them.

    I have proof !

    Don't worry, this post is not one of those.

  22. Re:Yeah, except for... by grytpype · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Don't give bin Laden a three-letter acronym. It's a sign of admiration.

    --

    - Have a picture

  23. Re:Yeah, except for... by localman · · Score: 2, Offtopic
    I understand where you are coming from. But here's something to consider: What if we are terrorists to them?


    Before you throw the idea out, consider that more civilians in the Middle East have died as a result of American action than the other way around.


    And as you point out, one can't just sit back and let these things continue. One must seek justice. I have a feeling that the attackers said the same things.


    Wish I had a solution to offer.

  24. How about this device? by jriskin · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    The Phone Butler
    http://www.phonebutler.com/

    A friend of mine got one for his Dad and swears by it. When you hear the telemarketer start to say anything to you, you hit the * key and a precanned message asks that you are to be put on the 'do not call list'.

    Advantages:
    1. Removes all the effort from having to deal with them.
    2. Puts you on the 'do not call list'
    3. Doesn't confuse your friends (unless you want to!?

    Disadvantages:
    1. Its $50
    2. Its got a really lame voice.

    On a second note, i've been using my cell phone in LA, CA for about a year without any problems with NO LANDLINE.

  25. Re:Yeah, except for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Amen brother