Efficient Image Steganography Using Whale
Optimization
Abstract- The development of image-based apps and the
ease with which information might now be accessed thanks to
the Internet have made security-related issues more significant
and difficult to solve. Certain media, including pictures, carry
information while protecting it from illegal access; this is a
topic of significant and ongoing research. Steganography is a
method of clandestine communication that may be used to
conceal sensitive information. It may be utilized to embed or
hide many types of sensitive data, such as text and picture files,
using a private key. For example, data hiding in picture is a
method that protects photographs by enclosing sensitive data.
The primary goal of any picture steganographic model is to
minimize image distortion while protecting embedded data.
The cover document is the file—also known as the secrete file—
that holds the confidential data. The embedded file that was
acquired is called the stego file. Therefore, the primary
objective of our proposal is to use picture data to develop a
unique Steganography model. Image steganography is the
technique of gathering photos and selecting color channels with
DCNN. The WOA approach then uses ALWT to carry out the
embedding procedure by choosing the best pixels from the
pictures. Ultimately, the stego pictures are recovered using
inverse ALWT. Here, the same DCNN is used to choose the
window from the obtained pictures. The experimental study's
findings demonstrate the effectiveness of embedding over
image data.
Keywords-Image Steganography Model; Image Steganography;
Adaptive Lifting Wavelet Transform; Deep Convolutional Neural
Networks; Whale Optimization Algorithm(WOA).
I. INTRODUCTION
Information secrecy is one of the most crucial aspects of
communication. There are two primary approaches of
obtaining information confidentiality. Steganography and
cryptography. The use of codes to protect the confidentiality
of information during communication is known as
cryptography. The history of cryptography is lengthy. There
are several approaches and its progression available in. Since
several cryptanalysis techniques have been created to detect
the secret information, it is no longer sufficient for
information to be kept hidden due to technological
advancements. Therefore, it's imperative to keep the
information's existence a secret. The process makes use of
steganography. The process of secretly adding data to a data
source without affecting its perceived quality is known as
steganography. The Greek words steganos, which literally
means "covered," and graphia, which means "writing," are the
source of the term steganography, which refers to covered
writing. Steganography's most well-known application is
hiding a record inside another document. In information
hiding, actual data is typically not maintained in its original
format. The format is converted into a different, comparable
picture for system files, such as images.
The science and art of covert communication known as
steganography focuses on transmitting covert messages by
modifying the original digital media, including images used to
create stego objects. For a given payload, the statistical
distributions of the digital media source need to be likely in
order to guarantee the security of the covert transmission.
Steganography is one method of picture security that
concentrates on concealing sensitive information. The process
of hiding a picture or text—referred to as sensitive image
data—within another picture or text—referred to as the
cover—in order to carry out cryptography and boost security.
In recent research works, A variety of image steganography
techniques have been used in recent studies. While the others
are based on the spatial domain, which has a popular and
straightforward extraction and embedding method, the
majority of approaches are accomplished based on the
transform domain with high robustness. The image-based
steganography conceals the keys to improve security.
The most effective cover method is image-based
steganography, which is widely used in human memory
applications and is effective. Their encrypted data frequency
creates a secret bit change that is undetectable to outside
parties. Previous studies have demonstrated that there are
certain difficulties in concealing the data within image files.
Lower visual quality of the image while performing any
modifications, lack of visibility of embedded information on
the distributed images, intra frame distortion drift in image
sequences, security, resilience, and greater payload of
concealed data are some of the issues with data hiding
systems. When executing the picture The aforementioned
issues with steganography are brought up, which lowers the
security level and stego file image quality. The majority of the
literature now in publication uses text or image files for digital
steganography. In general, there is a need to promote

steganography approaches on different types of image data.
There are several reasons why data is hidden in images,
including the need to successfully handle image disorientation,
additional room for concealment, and the inability of the
human visual system to discern the concealed data. The
emergence of deep learning in image vision tasks has led to
the suggestion of the steganography approach as a means of
optimizing performance rates with respect to accuracy and
efficiency. It uses deep learning-based techniques to improve
capacity, security, and autonomous generation. Steganalysis is
divided into two phases in these respects, such as feature
extraction by hand and classification. Support vector machines
(SVM), ensemble classifiers, convolutional neural networks
(CNN), recurrent neural networks (RNN), etc. are a few
examples of deep learning approaches. Deep learning
techniques have been applied to image steganography in
recent years to raise the communication security level. When
deep learning is applied to steganalysis, classification and
feature extraction are integrated into a single framework, and
parameter optimization is done to lower complexity and
dimensionality. While many studies concentrate on applying a
novel steganography model for individual data, relatively few
studies address the construction of a steganography model.
Thus, this research proposes a new steganography model using
wavelet transform model aided by deep learning and
optimization method on image data.
The following contributions are made to the
implementation of a new steganography model.
• To suggest a new deep learning-assisted ALWT
and picture steganography model in order to
enhance the caliber of stego items.
• To obtain a picture using the DCNN technique,
select the color channel from the photos, and
improve the stegos' quality.
• To suggest an ALWT that incorporates the WOA
algorithm for the purpose of optimizing the
wavelet type in LWT that aids in the embedding
of stego files and covers. In the end, inverse
ALWT facilitates the acquisition of the final stego
pictures. The higher Peak Signal to Noise Ratio
(PSNR) rate guarantees the fitness of the
steganography model that was created.
• To assess the effectiveness of the developed
picture steganography model by comparing it
with multiple methods and using a variety of
performance indicators.
This research work is arranged as follows. The existing
research works are evaluated in section II. The deep learning
and wavelet-based image steganography model is illustrated in
section III. The development of WOA algorithm for image
embedding selection is shown in section IV. The enhanced
image steganography using ALWT is depicted section V. The
results and discussions are explained in section VI. The
conclusion is given in section VII.
II. EXISTING RESEARCH WORKS
A. Related works
In 2023, “Residual Steganography: Embedding Secret
Data in Images using Residual Networks” Traditional image
steganography techniques typically involve embedding
information directly into the image data, which can often lead
to noticeable artifacts or degradation of the image quality[1].
In 2020, “High-Capacity Information Hiding Based on
Residual Network” Image steganography can be divided into
two species: transform domain and spatial domain information
hiding. One is transform domain information hiding, such as
Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT), Discrete Cosine Transform
(DCT) The other is spatial domain information hiding
methods, such as Least Significant Bit(LSB)and neural
network is applied to information hiding, Residual block is
used to the hidden network to make the network easier to
optimize and avoid the degradation problem caused by
expanding the depth of the network[2].
In 2020, “An improved image steganography technique
using edge based data hiding in DCT domain” classified into
two domains i.e., spatial domain and frequency domain, in
which data is embedded in the edge pixels of the carrier image
and in the existing image steganography using edge based data
hiding in DCT domain algorithm [3].
In 2020, “Steganography Techniques Using Convolutional
Neural Networks” The encoder neural network determines
where and how to place the message, dispersing it throughout
the bits of cover image. The decoder network on the receiving
side, which is simultaneously trained with the encoder, reveals
the secret image [4].
In 2020, “Image Steganography Analysis Based on Deep
Learning” The steganalysis approach utilizes the deep features
extracted from the stego image and also based on low
embedding rate images and multi-class steganography [5].
In 2019, Junhong Zhang et al [6] proposed a distortion
assessment method that takes into account more than only
inequity effects caused by flipping pixels. However, it relied
on the visual consequences of flipping identical pixels, often
known as joint distortion measurement. Use the syndrome-
trellis code to reduce embedding distortion and embed
messages instead of selecting specific sites for secret
messages. The suggested distortion measurement outperforms
the steganography method in terms of performance, statistical
security, and image quality.
In 2019, Inas Jawad Kadhim et al [7] investigated the
deployment of digital image steganography. Here, the pivotal
encounter in modeling a steganographic scheme requires
balancing security, resilience, imperceptibility, and bit
embedding rate. This paper evaluates traditional image
steganography methods and introduces fresh contributions
across several modalities. This paper provides a
comprehensive overview of image steganography, including
requirements, operations, features, and performance estimates.
Performance evaluation metrics for examining the
steganographic model were also presented. Additionally, we
covered how to select appropriate cover media for specific
applications and modern steganalysis systems.
In 2019, Ahmed A. Abd EL-Latif et al [8] developed a
method to create substitution boxes (S-boxes) based on
quantum walks. The suggested QWs S-box model's
performance was assessed using the S-box evaluation
criterion.
Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the S-box is
suitable for security-related applications. Furthermore, a
unique model for image steganography was developed. To
enhance the security of embedded data, the developed
paradigm combines quantum walks and classical data
concealment. QWs S-box was used to control extraction and
embedding procedures. The cryptographic QWs S-box ensures
security throughout extraction and embedding stages.
In 2019, Xiaotian Wu and Ching-Nung Yang [9]
developed SIS approaches using steganography and
authentication for uncompressed photos. They are not suitable
for domain compression. The model did not relapse a
deformed stego image into its original model, but the cover
image was significant. To address these challenges, we
devised a (k, n) threshold partial reversible Absolute Moment
Block Truncation Coding (AMBTC) based on the SIS model,
which includes authentication and steganography. GF (28)
used a polynomial on the basis of the SIS to partition a secret
image into n noise-similar shares. The AMBTC cover picture
was embedded with parity bits utilizing developed embedding
algorithms. Then, n significant stego images were modeled.
competently handle the shares. Authentication ensured the
legitimacy of the Stego picture. Adequate stego photos can
drastically alter the secret.
In 2018, Kumar Gaurav and Umesh Ghanekar [10]
developed a steganography algorithm based on the local
reference edge detection model and exclusive disjunction
(XOR) characteristic. Human eyes are less sensitive to
intensity fluctuations in sharp edges than in uniform areas of
an image. The bit plane dependent XOR coding scheme
improves security and capacity in the LSB bits of edge pixels,
resulting in minimal modifications. While the standard edge-
based steganography paradigm is more imperceptible, it has
limited embedding capabilities. Furthermore, the suggested
approach improves embedding capabilities while maintaining
resilience and imperceptibility.
possible by LWT . However, the noise in the images has an
impact on the performance. With the Optimized Counting-
Based Secret Sharing Scheme, robustness was guaranteed in
terms of SSIM, MSE, and PSNR, and it requires less
computing power. However, it has more time complexity
when figuring out the embedded probability. These difficulties
helps researchers to concentrate on putting their new
steganography model into practice.
III. DEEP LEARNING AND WAVELET-BASED IMAGE
STEGANOGRAPHY MODEL
A. Proposed image Steganography Model
The invisible communication science known as
steganography is employed to provide secure communication.
Another name for it is covered writing, which conceals the
existence of messages. Digital steganography is used for
secure and confidential communication in the majority of
applications worldwide. Various image carriers, such as
pictures, make up this digital media. In order to obtain stego
objects, this research study investigates different image data.
Information about text files or images is concealed within the
images during the process of image steganography. The game
theory model-based image steganography techniques now in
use have issues with employing more realistic images and
incur significant computational overhead. It allows for the safe
transmission of sensitive data or the concealment of its
existence. With the aid of deep learning and wavelet
techniques, these distinct steganography methods are
integrated to create a new image steganography method.as
shown in Fig. 3.1.

B. Problem statement
The steganography model for images attains the best
results in terms of embedding speed and provides a notable
enhancement in payload and steganography security.
However, it cannot be used to assess joint compression
embedding techniques. Steganography security is provided by
DCNN, and coding efficiency has increased. It has effectively
quantified the altered distortions brought about by intra- and
inter-channels forecasts. However, the costs of inter-block
distortion are higher. Higher processing efficiency, increased
invisibility, and a high degree of security have all been made

Fig 3.1 : Architecture of image Steganography Model

 This work implements a research on image steganography
model. This steganography method takes into account three
main processes: ALWT-based embedding, optimal selection,
and DCNN-based picture data selection. Gathering the photos
from standard datasets and using the DCNN to choose the
color channels in the images is how image steganography is
done. The best pixels are then chosen using the WOA method,
and the data is then sent to the ALWT embedding process.
The goal of using ALWT for image steganography is to
produce results with a better PSNR rate. Finally, the stego
pictures are obtained by performing an inverse ALWT.
Ultimately, the embedding over picture data is accomplished
and demonstrated to perform better.
B. Description of Dataset
In this proposed steganography model, the image data is
gathered for processing.
Image dataset: The dataset was collected from
“https://www.petitcolas.net/watermarking/image_database/:
Access date: 2022-05-15”. This dataset consists of various set
of images, in which the Classics images are gathered for
image steganography. The Baboon is used in this model,
where the “Courtesy of the Signal and Image Processing
Institute at the University of Southern California”. The
gathered images are termed as im rt , where
rt = 1,2,3, , RT and the total number of collected images is
indicated as RT
C. DCNN-based image Data Selection
In this proposed steganography model, DCNN is used for
performing the image data selection. Here, from the gathered
images im rt , the channels of images are attained and fed to the
next phase. So, the inputs of DCNN are gathered images im rt .
At last, the DCNN achieves the results as channels of images,
window.
DCNN addresses the problem of encrypting digital data
with hidden visuals. Without human oversight, DCNN is
capable of autonomously identifying the salient and notable
aspects. Additionally computationally efficient is DCNN. It
also aids in finding patterns in data, particularly picture data.
The DCNN consists of two sub-models: the first one is
called the encoding and decoding sub-model and it focuses on
the preparation and hiding network, while the second one is
called the reveal network. The network is accurately prepared
in the encoding sub-model by extracting the properties of data,
including images. After that, the network is made visible by
decoding the input data to extract its properties. Nevertheless,
in order to shorten the training period, every component of the
intended DCNN is modified to make it more suitable for
image data. In this case, the convolution stacked blocks are
built to learn different network feature levels. 5 convolutions
are stacked to create a block with a kernel size that is
comparable. There are three parallel blocks in it. with kernel
size of 3×3, 4×4, and 5×5, which helps in learning more
different features.
Three blocks' worth of output are pooled and sent via a
comparable architecture that has just one convolution layer
and is not shallower. Lastly, to obtain the desired result size,
the combined results are sent to an additional convolutional
layer. The network configuration for the base model is ready.
It can be used to obtain the properties of the input data. Next,
the base model's architecture is used to prepare the hidden
network. For the purpose of creating the container images, the
network weights are learned. In order to decode the data and
obtain the original data, the reveal network is finally proposed.
The rectified linear unit (ReLU) is used as the linear activation
function in the last layer of the model. The decoding process is
matched for getting the output of the network.
Finally, DCNN gets the results as channels of
images chcs .The designed DCNN-based image data selection
is given in Fig. 3.2.
Fig 3.2: DCNN-based image data selection for image
steganography
IV. DEVELOPMENT OF WHALE OPTIMIZER FOR IMAGE
EMBEDDING SELECTION
A. Proposed WOA
2.1. Inspiration
Whales are elegant animals. They are said to be the largest
mammals on the planet. A mature whale can reach lengths of
30 m and weights of 180 t. This enormous mammal is divided
into seven primary species, including the killer, minke, sei,
humpback, and right, finback, and blue. Most people classify
whales as predators. Because they must breathe from the
ocean's surface, they never sleep. The brain only sleeps in
actuality in half of it. Whales are thought to be extremely
intelligent, feeling animals, which makes them fascinating.
Hof and Van Der Gucht claim that whales share spindle cells,
which are identical to human brain cells in some brain regions.
Human judgment, emotions, and social behaviors are
controlled by these cells. Put another way, our spindle cells set
us apart from other animals. Whales are twice as intelligent as
an adult human because they have twice as many of these
cells. Whales are demonstrably just as intelligent as humans
when it comes to thinking, learning, judging, communicating,
and even feeling emotions, albeit obviously much less so. It
has also been noted that whales, primarily killer whales, can
acquire a vernacular of their own. Whale social behavior is an
additional fascinating subject of interest. They either dwell in
groups or alone. They are, nevertheless, primarily seen in
groups. Certain species—killer whales, for example—can live
their whole lives as a family. Megaptera novaeangliae, or
humpback whales, are among the largest species of baleen
whales. A mature humpback whale resembles a school bus in
size. Small fish herds and krill are their preferred prey. It is
this mammal in Fig. 2. The unique way that humpback whales
hunt is what I find most fascinating about them. We refer to
this kind of foraging as the "bubble-net feeding method."
Hunting near the surface for schools of krill or small fish is
what humpback whales prefer to do. It has been noted that this
foraging is carried out by blowing characteristic bubbles along
a line that forms a circle or a "9," as depicted in Fig. 2. Prior to
2011, this behavior was solely examined through surface
observations. That said, this behavior makes use of tag
sensors. 300 tag-derived bubble-net feeding sessions involving
nine distinct humpback whales were recorded. They
discovered two bubble-related moves and gave them the
names "double loops" and "upward-spirals." In the former
tactic, humpback whales descend around 12 meters, begin to
encircle their prey in a bubble, and then swim upward toward
the surface. The subsequent maneuver consists of three stages:
the capture loop, the lobtail, and the coral loop.It is important
to note that humpback whales are the only animals that exhibit
the unusual habit of bubble-net feeding. This work performs
optimization by performing a mathematical modeling of the
spiral bubble-net feeding maneuver.
Fig 4.1. Bubble-net feeding behavior of humpback whales.
2.2. Mathematical model and optimization algorithm
The spiral bubble-net feeding maneuver, encircling prey
mathematical model, and prey search are presented first in this
section. Next, the WOA algorithm is suggested.
2.2.1. Encircling prey
The bubble-net feeding technique used by humpbacks
serves as the direct inspiration for the mathematical model that
Andrew Lewis and Seyedali Mirjalili proposed in. Finding the
prey's position through a herd is the first step in the hunting
strategy outlined in the previous section and the basis of the
mathematical model. Once the most qualified search agent is
selected (based on a calculation of each search agent's fitness),
other search agents update their positions in order to challenge
him for the top spot.
As was indicated in the preceding section, humpback
whales use the bubble-net technique to assault their prey. The
following is the method's mathematical formulation:
where t is the current iteration, 𝑋∗ is the position vector
of the best solution, 𝑋→ is the position vector, 𝑎→ is linearly
decreased vector over the iterations, 𝑟→ is a random vector in
[0, 1]. Achieving different new positions (𝑋→, Y→) in the
neighborhood of the best agent (X*.Y*)is possible by updating
values of 𝐴→ and 𝐶→ vectors according to Equations (3) and
(4). What is worth mentioning is that this model can be
extended to the n dimensional search space which we benefit
from in our research by extending the space to three-
dimensional one.
2.2.2. Bubble-net attacking method (exploitation phase)
The attack itself is the primary component of the bubble-net
hunting technique. It is referred to as the "exploitation phase"
in WOA and is split into two phases: spiral updating location
and shrinking encircling mechanism.
shrinking encircling mechanism : mathematically represented
by a vector 𝑎→ with diminishing value throughout the course
of the rounds, and the second by introducing a unique equation
(Equation (5)) to simulate the whales' spiral movement. In
actuality, during a hunt, the whales exhibit both of these
behaviors at the same time as they spiral toward the surface
and contract. its circumference. Thus, in order to replicate this,
the Whale Optimization Algorithm uses Equation (7) to
assume a 50% likelihood of updating position using either the
first or the second behavior.
 2.2.3. Search for prey (exploration phase)
The Whale Optimization Algorithm presents an additional
mechanism known as the exploring phase. Its primary function
is to search beyond the present best answer to see whether
there might be a better one. As a result, WOA can search
globally. This is accomplished mathematically by changing
where b is a constant for defining the shape of the the position (𝑋,𝑌) in accordance with the random vector 𝐴→
logarithmic spiral, l is a random number (Equation (9)).
in [−1,1][−1,1]. Figure 2 presents bubble-net hunting attack
split into two separate movements in the mathematical model.

Fig. 4. Bubble-net search mechanism implemented in WOA

(X∗ is the best solution obtained so far): (a) shrinking
encircling mechanism and (b) spiral updating position. Fig 5: Exploration mechanism implemented in WOA(X* is a
randomly choose search agent).
Spiral updating position: As can be seen in Fig. 4(b), this
approach first calculates the distance between the whale
Initialize the whales population Xi (i = 1, 2, ..., n)
located at (X,Y) and prey located at (X∗,Y∗). A spiral
equation is then created between the position of whale and Calculate the fitness of each search agent
prey to mimic the helix-shaped movement of humpback
whales as follows: X*=the best search agent
while (t < maximum number of iterations)
X(t + 1) = Dr→. ebl · cos (2πl) + X∗ (t) (5)
for each search agent
where −→ Dr = | →X∗(t) – →X (t)| and indicates the
distance of the ith whale to the prey (best solution obtained so Update a, A, C, l, and p
far), b is a constant for defining the shape of the logarithmic
spiral, l is a random number in [−1,1] if1 (p< 1)
Update the position of the current search agent by the Eq.
(2.1)
else if2 (|A|>1)
Select a random search agent ( )
Update the position of the current search agent by the Eq.
In addition to the bubble-net method, the humpback (2.8)
whales search for prey randomly. The mathematical model of
the search is as follows. end if2
 else if1 (p 0.5)
Update the position of the current search by the Eq. (2.5)
end if1
end for
Check if any search agent goes beyond the search space
and amend it
Calculate the fitness of each search agent
Update X* if there is a better solution
t=t+1
end while
return X*
Fig. 6. Pseudo-code of the WOA algorithm.
where →Xrand is a random position vector selected from
the current population (a random whale). Fig. 5 shows some of
the potential locations around a specific solution with A > 1.
An initial collection of random solutions is used by the WOA
algorithm. Search agents adjust their positions in relation to a
randomly selected search agent or the best solution found thus
far at each iteration. The exploration and exploitation
parameters are provided by reducing the a parameter from 2 to
0. When |A | > 1, a random search agent is picked; when |A | <
1, the optimal solution is chosen to update the search agents'
positions. De pending on the value of p, WOA has the ability
to move in a circular or spiral pattern. When a termination
requirement is satisfied, the WOA algorithm comes to an end.
Figure 6 displays the WOA algorithm's pseudo code. Because
WOA has the ability to explore and exploit, it can be viewed
as a global optimizer from a theoretical perspective.
Furthermore, other search agents are able to take advantage of
the current best record within the defined search space that the
suggested hyper-cube method creates around the optimal
answer. The WOA algorithm may seamlessly move between
exploration and exploitation thanks to an adaptive change of
the search vector A. This is achieved by reducing A, some
iterations are devoted to exploration (|A| ≥ 1) and the the rest
is dedicated to exploitation (|A| < 1). Remarkably, WOA
includes only two main internal parameters to be adjusted (A
and C).
To fully replicate the behavior of humpback whales,
mutation and other evolutionary operations may have been
incorporated in the WOA formulation; however, we chose to
apply a very basic version of the WOA algorithm by reducing
the number of internal parameters and heuristics. However,
hybridization with evolutionary search schemes may be the
subject of future studies
V. ENHANCED IMAGE STEGANOGRAPHY USING ADAPTIVE
LIFTING WAVELET SCHEME
B. ALWT-based Steganograpghy
The second-generation wavelet, known as LWT, solves the
problem with the first-generation wavelet by analyzing the
problem in the integer domain and using an in-place wavelet
transform architecture. LWT improves computing
performance and uses less memory. In this paper, LWT is
selected because it reduces computational complexity. The
LWT technique is a revolutionary approach to bi-orthogonal
wavelet design that makes use of the signal's frequency
domain characteristic following the signal's time domain
translation. Because LWT makes wavelet design simpler, it is
more useful for creating real-world applications. The LWT
strategy does not require the information in the Fourier
transform since wavelet transform is proposed in the time or
spatial domain. The ideal reconstructions in LWT are derived
in Eq. (12).
 =
( )
 h(r )h~ r −1 + g (r )g~ r −1 = 2( )
( ) ( )
(12)
h(r )h − r + g (r )g − r = 2
~ −1 ~ −1
Here, LWT utilizes the two synthesis filters like g (high-
pass) and h (low-pass) in the inverse transform and the
forward transform utilizes two analysis filters such as g~ (high-
~
pass) and h (low-pass). The LWT has various lifting
operations such as split, predict and merge principles, which is
a simpler correlation among reconstruction filter pairs. In the
split operation, the original data with lg − length, where
lg = 2 jk is divided into two different groups of odd and even
samples.
Second, it concentrates on substituting Eq. (13)—which is
interpreted as high frequency or detail components—for the
odd element during the prediction step. As a result, the
prediction process is viewed as a high-pass filter in this
instance.
ds jk −1 lg  = xk 0 lg  − Pr (xk es lg ) (13)
The prediction operator in this case is represented by.
Thirdly, the update phase attempts to smoothen the data in
comparison to the prior scale by substituting an approximation
for the even element in the data. As a result, this process is
interpreted as low-pass filtering since the smoother data has
less high frequency components. Equation (14) deduces the
updating equation.
(
up jk −1 lg  = xk es lg  + UP ds jk −1 lg  ) (14)
Equation (14) is employed to analyze and break down the
forward wavelet transform. Finally, in order to normalize the
approximation and details coefficients at the end of the
transformation process, the normalization stage is taken into
consideration. The inverse step is finally carried out. Different
wavelets are employed in LWT to specify the properties of the
resultant transform. Three wavelets—the Daubechies wavelet,
the Cohen-Daubechies-Feauveau (CDF) 9/7-tap wavelet, and
the Haar wavelet—are examined in this work. Consideration
must be given to the specifics of a given application while
selecting this wavelet. Wavelets are chosen according to their
forms and capacity for data analysis in the relevant
application. In this case, the Haar and Daubechies wavelets are
the most notable wavelets in the wavelet family. One of the bi-
orthogonal wavelets is Cohen-Daubechies-Feauveau, which
features symmetric wavelets and generators. The primal
generator is a B-Spline, and the dual generator has the
maximum number of smoothness factors for its length.
In order to maximize the performance of the
steganography findings, the WOA algorithm selects the
corresponding wavelet in the ALWT-based steganography.
C. Objective Model for Proposed Steganograpghy
The goal of the suggested picture steganography paradigm
is to steganography images. This model proposes a novel
ALWT that uses the WOA algorithm to carry out the
steganography embedding. The primary goal of this picture
steganography model is to maximize PSNR with respect to
steganography outcomes, which includes cover data and stego
data. It is obtained from Eq. (15).
(15)
Here, the WOA algorithm selects optimal time
instants ti aw* and proposes ALWT by optimizing the types of
wavelets for performing the steganography and types of
wavelets is selected among [1, 3]. A metric of the peak error is
denoted by PSNR and termed as Psnr , which is derived in Eq.
(16).
 Cmmax
2
 (a) BR: It is used for measuring the change of the bit rate,
Psnr = 10 log 
 (16)
 mse  in which the bit rate increase rate is formulated in Eq. (20).
Here, the maximum value in the original data or cover data
2
including images is represented by Cm max , and the MSE is
termed as mse and derived in Eq. (17).
mse =
1

Mr  Nc ir =0 jr =0

  Im stego (ir, jr ) − Im cov (ir, jr ) (17)
Nc −1Mr −1 2 as Sz orig and the size of the data after embedding the
Here, the stego and original data are correspondingly
presented by Im stego (ir , jr ) and Im cov (ir, jr ) , the number of
columns and rows in image data are correspondingly
represented as Nc and Mr . Finally, the proposed multi-media
steganography model is diagrammatically represented in
Fig.5.1.
Fig 5.1: Proposed image steganography model with ALWT and WOA
algorithm
D. Inverse ALWT-based Message Restoration
The inverse ALWT is utilized in this image steganography
model to recover the messages from the image data pertaining
to images. The update step comes first in the inverse step, then
the predict step, and finally the combination of the even and
odd components to interleave the even and odd parts back into
the same data stream. The following equations are used to
perform the inverse ALWT.
(
xk es lg  = up jk −1 lg  − UP ds jk −1 lg  ) (18)
xk 0 lg  = ds jk −1 lg  + Pr (xk es lg ) (19)
At last, the original messages are restored from the stego
objects including images.
VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
A. Experimental setup
Python experiments were used to do a performance
analysis on the multi-media steganography model that was
built. In this case, metrics including NCC, MSE, Bit Rate
(BR), SSIM, PSNR, and Embedding Capacity were used to
evaluate performance (EC). The comparative analysis was
conducted by examining several transform techniques that are
currently in use, such as QDCT, DWT, DCT, and LWT. The
population was assumed to be ten for the sake of the
experimental analysis.
B. Performance measures
The performance measures are described here.
Sz emb − Szorig
BR =  100% (20)
Sz orig
Here, the size of the original multimedia data is known
information process is considered as Sz emb .
(b) EC: The greatest amount of secret data that can be
incorporated into cover data is its definition. It is dependent
upon the embedding function and the characteristics of the
cover data. It is obtained from Eq. (21) and calculated as a
percentage.
max
Sz emd
EC =  100 (21)
Sz orig
max
Here, term Sz emd represents maximum size of data
embedded.
(c) NCC: The range of NCC is 0.99 to 1, as stated here,
and it is used to "evaluate the likeness between the original
secret data and the extracted secret data."
 mse =
Nc −1Mr −1
 
ir = 0 jr = 0
Im (ir, jr ) − Im (ir, jr )
stego cov
 2 
 IN Im( ref
stego
)
+ Cv1  2 IN Im + Cv 2 

ref



SSIM = mean 2
( )( )  (9)
stego

  IN +  Im + Cv1  IN +  Im + Cv 2 
(22) 2 2 2
1 ref
stego
ref
stego
 
Im cov (ir, jr )
Nc −1Mr −1 2
 
ir =0 jr =0
In Eq. (9), the mean of Im cov and Im stego is represented
(d) SSIM: It is “a perceptual metric that quantifies as  Im and  Im , respectively, the variance
cov stego

image quality degradation caused by processing” of Im cov and Im stego is denoted as  Im and  Im cov stego
, the constant
as equated in Eq. values are indicated as Nv1 and Nv 2 , respectively and the
covariance of Im cov and Im stego is given as  Im Im . cov
stego

(23). C. Image results

The sample experimental results are given in Fig. 5.

Cover Image Secret Image Stego Image

Fig.2. Sample experimental results

algorithms in Figures 6 and 7, respectively, as well as a variety

D. Analysis on Image steganography of heuristic algorithms. By assessing the several performance
The effectiveness of the recommended multi-media metrics, this study verifies the performance estimation for
steganography is assessed on terms of statistical analysis of image steganography.
the picture steganography provided for different approaches
 (a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)
Fig. 1. Performance investigation on Image steganography over various optimization algorithms over (a) BR, (b) EC, (c) MSE, (d) NCC, (e) PSNR and (f) SSIM

the maximum performance is ensured for image

E. Statistical analysis steganography techniques.
In this section, the statistical analysis of the created picture
steganography model is assessed, and the associated image
steganography is displayed in Table I. As seen from results it
is concluded that
 TABLE I. PERFORMANCE INVESTIGATION ON IMAGE STEGANOGRAPHY OVER VARIOUS ALGORITHMS
TERMS BR EC MSE
Best
0.1999999999999993 256000.0 4616.166582000001
Worst
1.1799999999999997 256000.0 11371.94755869
Mean
0.5959999999999998 256000.0 7239.859704175125
Median
0.4599999999999991 256000.0 5263.6143135056245
Standard
deviation 0.3531345352694921 0.0 2855.5822640195306
VII. CONCLUSION
Using data from image steganography, a new
steganography model has been implemented in this paper. The
DCNN was used to extract the channels from the images in
order to use them for image steganography. Next, the WOA
algorithm was used to choose the best color channels.
Ultimately, the information was embedded using ALWT, and
the stego image were obtained using inverse ALWT. To
achieve higher steganography performance, additional
improvements to the heuristic techniques will need to be
made, as the suggested model only observes similar
performance to current ones.
References
[1] Y. Wang, Y. Cao and X. Zhao, "Minimizing Embedding Impact for
H.264 Steganography by Progressive Trellis Coding," IEEE
Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, vol. 16, pp. 333-
345, 2021.
[2] Yi Chen, Hongxia Wang, Kim-Kwang Raymond Choo, Peisong He,
Zoran Salcic, Mohamed Ali Kaafar, Xuyun Zhang, "DDCA: A
Distortion Drift-Based Cost Assignment Method for Adaptive Video
Steganography in the Transform Domain," IEEE Transactions on
Dependable and Secure Computing, 2021.
Emad Elshazly, Abdelwahab Safey, Abouzaid Refaat, O. Zahran, and
Sayed M. Elaraby, "A secure image steganography algorithm based on
least significant bit and integer wavelet transform," Journal of Systems
Engineering and Electronics, vol. 29, issue. 3, pp. 639-649, June 2018.
[3] Adnan Gutub & Maimoona Al-Ghamdi "Hiding shares by multimedia
image steganography for optimized counting-based secret sharing,"
Multimedia Tools and Applications, vol. 79, pp. 7951–7985, 2020.
[4] Meenu Suresh & I. Shatheesh Sam "Optimal wavelet transform using
Oppositional Grey Wolf Optimization for video steganography,"
Multimedia Tools and Applications, vol. 79, pp. 27023–27037, 2020.
[5] K. Niu, J. Li, X. Yang, S. Zhang and B. Wang, "Hybrid Adaptive Video
Steganography Scheme Under Game Model," IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp.
61523-61533, 2019.
[6] W. Su, J. Ni, X. Hu and J. Fridrich, "Image Steganography With
Symmetric Embedding Using Gaussian Markov Random Field Model,"
IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology, vol.
31, no. 3, pp. 1001-1015, March 2021.
[7] Meenu Suresh and I.Shatheesh Sam, "Optimized interesting region
identification for video steganography using Fractional Grey Wolf
Optimization along with multi-objective cost function," Journal of King
Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences, August 2020.
[8] X. Zhang, F. Peng and M. Long, "Robust Coverless Image
Steganography Based on DCT and LDA Topic Classification," IEEE
Transactions on Multimedia, vol. 20, no. 12, pp. 3223-3238, Dec. 2018.
[9] A. S. Brandao and D. C. Jorge, "Artificial Neural Networks Applied to
Image Steganography," IEEE Latin America Transactions, vol. 14, no.
3, pp. 1361-1366, March 2016.
[10] S. Tan and B. Li, "Targeted Steganalysis of Edge Adaptive Image
Steganography Based on LSB Matching Revisited Using B-Spline
NCC PSNR SSIM
0.2563399107287346 7.572455125776161 0.7382982829352915
0.45880498748344467 100.0 1.0
0.3823322900531142 27.56193128020691 0.8249195961151216
0.40420530410900735 10.91796301624637 0.7829622873275645
0.07278045302272801 36.247880023844715 0.09773377177379504
Fitting," IEEE Signal Processing Letters, vol. 19, no. 6, pp. 336-339,
June 2012.
[11] Z. Zhang, G. Fu, R. Ni, J. Liu and X. Yang, "A generative method for
steganography by cover synthesis with auxiliary semantics," Tsinghua
Science and Technology, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 516-527, Aug. 2020.
[12] J. Zhang and D. Zhang, "Detection of LSB Matching Steganography in
Decompressed Images," IEEE Signal Processing Letters, vol. 17, no. 2,
pp. 141-144, Feb. 2010.
[13] Ran-Zan Wang and Yeh-Shun Chen, "High-payload image
steganography using two-way block matching," IEEE Signal Processing
Letters, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 161-164, March 2006.
[14] N. Subramanian, O. Elharrouss, S. Al-Maadeed and A. Bouridane,
"Image Steganography: A Review of the Recent Advances," IEEE
Access, vol. 9, pp. 23409-23423, 2021.
[15] A. A. Lopez-Hernandez, R. F. Martinez-Gonzalez, J. A. Hernandez-
Reyes, L. Palacios-Luengas and R. Vazquez-Medina, "A Steganography
Method Using Neural Networks," IEEE Latin America Transactions,
vol. 18, no. 03, pp. 495-506, March 2020.
[16] M. Sharifzadeh, M. Aloraini and D. Schonfeld, "Adaptive Batch Size
Image Merging Steganography and Quantized Gaussian Image
Steganography," IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and
Security, vol. 15, pp. 867-879, 2020.
[17] R. J. Mstafa, Y. M. Younis, H. I. Hussein and M. Atto, "A New Video
Steganography Scheme Based on Shi-Tomasi Corner Detector," IEEE
Access, vol. 8, pp. 161825-161837, 2020.
[18] L. Zhai, L. Wang and Y. Ren, "Universal Detection of Video
Steganography in Multiple Domains Based on the Consistency of
Motion Vectors," IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and
Security, vol. 15, pp. 1762-1777, 2020.
[19] R. J. Mstafa, K. M. Elleithy and E. Abdelfattah, "A Robust and Secure
Video Steganography Method in DWT-DCT Domains Based on
Multiple Object Tracking and ECC," IEEE Access, vol. 5, pp. 5354-
5365, 2017.
[20] T. Rabie and M. Baziyad, "The Pixogram: Addressing High Payload
Demands for Video Steganography," IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 21948-
21962, 2019.
[21] S. Liu, B. Liu, Y. Hu and X. Zhao, "Non-Degraded Adaptive HEVC
Steganography by Advanced Motion Vector Prediction," IEEE Signal
Processing Letters, vol. 28, pp. 1843-1847, 2021.
[22] K. Wang, H. Zhao and H. Wang, "Video Steganalysis Against Motion
Vector-Based Steganography by Adding or Subtracting One Motion
Vector Value," IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and
Security, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 741-751, May 2014.
[23] K. Tasdemir, F. Kurugollu and S. Sezer, "Spatio-Temporal Rich Model-
Based Video Steganalysis on Cross Sections of Motion Vector Planes,"
IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, vol. 25, no. 7, pp. 3316-3328,
July 2016.
[24] X. Yi, K. Yang, X. Zhao, Y. Wang and H. Yu, "AHCM: Adaptive
Huffman Code Mapping for Audio Steganography Based on
Psychoacoustic Model," IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics
and Security, vol. 14, no. 8, pp. 2217-2231, Aug. 2019.
[25] Abdollahzadeh, B., Soleimanian Gharehchopogh, F., Mirjalili, S.
"Artificial gorilla troops optimizer: A new nature-inspired metaheuristic
algorithm for global optimization problems," International Journal of
Intelligent Systems, vol. 36, issue. 10, pp. 5887–5958, 2021.
[26] Q. P. Huu, T. H. Dinh, N. N. Tran, T. P. Van and T. T. Minh, "Deep
Neural Networks based Invisible Steganography for Audio-into-Image
Algorithm," IEEE 8th Global Conference on Consumer Electronics
(GCCE), pp. 423-427, 2019.
[27] M. Anwar, M. Sarosa and E. Rohadi, "Audio Steganography Using
Lifting Wavelet Transform and Dynamic Key," International Conference
of Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology (ICAIIT), pp. 133-
137, 2019.
[28] M.E.H.Pedersen and A.J.Chipperfield, " Simplifying Particle Swarm
Optimization", Applied Soft Computing, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 618-628,
2010.
[29] Seyedali Mirjalili and Andrew Lewis, "The Whale Optimization
Algorithm", Advances in Engineering Software, vol. 95, pp.51–67,
2016.
[30] Ravipudi Venkata Rao, "Jaya: A simple and new optimization algorithm
for solving constrained and unconstrained optimization problems,"
International Journal of Industrial Engineering Computations, vol. 7,
issue. 1, pp. 19-34, 2016.
[31] Nikhitha Keshava Murthy, Shardul Sharma, M. Jasmine Pemeena
Priyadarsini, Ravi Ranjan, Satyaki Sarkar & N. Sardar Basha "Image
Steganography Using Discrete Cosine Transform Algorithm for Medical
Images," Advances in Automation, Signal Processing, Instrumentation,
and Control, pp. 2349–2358, 2021.