Patent Document

BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to techniques for preventing data leakage and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for modifying a carrier to disrupt secret message transmission and prevent data leakage that is facilitated by steganography. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Content (e.g., images, sound, video, and the like) has become popular within the Internet community. The proliferation of the multimedia content, however, has paved a way for data leakage problems within organizations (e.g., corporations, government agencies, universities and/or the like). For example, steganography involves the use of various forms of the content as carriers to leak data (e.g., engineering specifications, blueprints, financial information, privileged information, structural designs, source code, trade secrets, formulae, defense plans and the like). In steganography, the hidden data or message is merged with the content data (e.g., pixel values, motion vectors, audio data, color information, coefficients and/or the like). 
     Sometimes, the carrier includes data (e.g., redundant bits) on which a sequence of bits (i.e., hidden data) may be transmitted with little or no chance of detection and without a noticeable loss in perceptual quality (i.e., most human cannot pickup certain differences in luminance and color). In an image, for example, one or more less significant bits of time domain samples or transform domain coefficients may be used to transmit the hidden data. Similarly, redundant audio data may also be used to leak data. Sometimes, the carrier may be transmitted as an attachment to an inconspicuous message from the organization to an external computing device. 
     Occasionally, a person (e.g., a hacker, a disgruntled employee of the organization and/or the like) utilizes a steganographic technique to leak the confidential data. During a phishing attack, hackers may utilize steganography to embed the stolen credentials in the multimedia content and publish it on public bulletin boards to evade detection. Furthermore, terrorists may hide information in the multimedia content by utilizing steganography for communication. 
     Current steganographic techniques replace one or more portions of the content data with the confidential data. Such steganographic techniques use one or more less significant bits of time domain or coefficient of transform domain as carrier to hide data. However, current statistical and artificial intelligence based steganography detection techniques are computationally expensive. In addition, the current steganography detection techniques have a high rate of false positives which limits the usefulness of such detection techniques within enterprise Data Leakage Prevention (DLP) solutions. 
     Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for preventing data leakage caused by a steganographic technique. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention comprise a method and apparatus for preventing data leakage facilitated by steganography. In one embodiment, a method for preventing data leakage caused by steganography without perceptual quality degradation comprises processing content being transmitted from a computer, wherein the content comprises steganographic data; and before the transmission, modifying the steganographic data to corrupt information that may be hidden within the content without perceptual quality degradation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system for modifying a carrier to prevent data leakage caused by a steganographic technique in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a flow diagram of a method for modifying a carrier to prevent data leakage caused by a steganographic technique in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of a method to generate carrier modification information in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system  100  for modifying a carrier to prevent data leakage according to one or more embodiments. The system  100  comprises a user computer  102 , an illicit computer  106  and a filter  104 , coupled to each other through a network  108 . 
     The user computer  102  is a type of computing device (e.g., a laptop, a desktop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)), such as those generally known in the art. The user computer  102  may be used by a computer to communicate various forms of content, such as content  110 , to one or more computers through the filter  104 . As such, the user computer  102  is the source of any hidden information that is leaked through steganography. The content  110  includes steganographic data  112 , which may be defined as one or more portions (e.g., bits) of the content  110  that may be modified (e.g., replaced with confidential information) with a minimal loss in perceptual quality. For example, the steganographic data  112  may include one or more redundant bits (e.g., less significant bits) associated with the content  110  (e.g., pixel values, transform coefficients (e.g., quantized direct cosine transform coefficients), spatial structures, color tables and/or the like). 
     The filter  104  is a type of hardware device (e.g., a laptop, a desktop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a router, a switch and/or the like), such as those generally known in the art. The filter  104  is configured to modify a carrier to corrupt any hidden information beyond recognition. The filter  104  includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU)  114 , various support circuits  116 , and a memory  118 . The CPU  114  may comprise one or more commercially available microprocessors or microcontrollers that facilitate data processing and storage. The support circuits  116  facilitate the operation of the CPU  114  and comprise at least one of clock circuits, power supplies, cache, input/output circuits, and the like. The memory  118  comprises at least one of Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), disk drive storage, optical storage, removable storage, and the like. The memory  118  includes various software packages, such as data leakage prevention software  120  and a perceptual quality module  124 . The memory further includes various data, such as carrier modification information  122 . 
     The network  108  comprises a communication system that connects a computer system by wire, cable, fiber optic and/or wireless link facilitated by various types of well-known network elements, such as hubs, switches, routers, and the like. The network  108  may employ various well-known protocols to communicate information amongst the network resources. For example, the network  108  may be a part of the internet or intranet using various communications infrastructure, such as Ethernet, WiFi, WiMax, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), and the like. 
     The illicit computer  106  is a type of computing device (e.g., a laptop, a desktop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)), such as those generally known in the art. In one embodiment, the illicit computer  106  is an intended recipient of the content  110 . In another embodiment, the illicit computer  106  may be utilized by a hacker (e.g., a terrorist, a phisher, a spy and the like) with an intention to steal information through a steganographic technique. The stolen information may be hidden within the steganographic data  112 . As explained further below, the application of the various embodiments of the present invention corrupt the steganographic data  112  and destroy any hidden information. As such, the illicit computer  106  receives modified content  126  with corrupted hidden information. In other words, the modified content  126  does not include a retrievable version of any hidden information. 
     According to various embodiment of the present invention, the content  110  includes image data, audio data, video data and the like. The steganographic data  112  includes data (e.g., redundant bits) that may be modified with a minimal loss in perceptual quality associated with the content. In one embodiment, a user of the user computer  102  utilizes a steganographic technique to hide information within the redundant data as the steganographic data  112 . The information hidden within the steganographic data  112  may include various data, such as engineering specifications, chemical formulae, confidential information, source code, trade secrets, defense plans and the like. 
     According to various embodiments of the present invention, the carrier modification information  122  indicates one or more portions of the steganographic data  112  that may be modified without perceptual quality degradation. After the modification, the modified content  126  has very little, if any, loss in perceptual quality. The carrier modification  122  indicates an acceptable (i.e., minimal) perceptual quality for the content  110 . In one embodiment, the carrier modification information  122  is used to determine one or more bits (e.g., Less Significant Bits, randomly selected bits and/or the like) that may be modified in order to corrupt the steganographic data  112  within the content  110 . For example, a number of pixels are computed from an acceptable Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) value for an image where less significant bits within the number of pixels are to be modified in order to destroy any hidden information. 
     The carrier modification information  122  may be generated through experimentation with numerous forms of content according to one embodiment. For example, the carrier modification information  122  may be based upon acceptable Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) values for numerous images. In one embodiment, an acceptable PSNR value indicates a number of bits of redundant data within the content  110  that is to be modified in order to corrupt the steganographic data  112  without perceptual quality degradation. Perceptual quality degradation may be defined as a minimal (i.e., a noticeable) loss in perceptual quality. In one embodiment, a pre-defined threshold may be a range of PSNR values that are not associated with perceptual quality degradation between original and modified versions of the numerous images. 
     In one embodiment, the perceptual quality module  124  determines a difference in perceptual quality between the content  110  and a modified version of the content  110 . In one embodiment, a PSNR value represents the extent to which the original version of the image differs from the modified version of the image. Generally, a PSNR value is an engineering term for the ratio between the maximum possible power of a signal and the power of corrupting noise that affects the fidelity of its representation. In one embodiment, the PSNR value is computed using a mean square error value (MSE). The mean square value is the sum of the square of the differences between values for the content (e.g., pixel values of an image) and the modified version of the content (e.g., pixel values for the modified version of the image) that is further divided by a size of the image (e.g., image pixel height multiplied by image pixel width). Then, a maximum value for the content (e.g., 255 for an image if each pixel is eight bits) is divided by a square root of the MSE to produce an intermediate value. Finally, a logarithm of the intermediate value is multiplied by twenty to produce the PSNR value that is expressed in terms of a logarithmic decibel (dB) scale as explained further below. 
     According to various embodiments of the present invention, the perceptual quality module  124  computes a Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) value between an original and a modified version of the content  110 . The computed PSNR value represents a perceptual quality of the content  110  after modification (i.e., an extent of perceptual quality loss between the original and the modified version of the content  110 ). Based on the computed PSNR value, the perceptual quality module  124  determines the perceptual quality degradation, if any, associated with the content after modification. 
     According to various embodiments of the present invention, the data leakage prevention software  120  prevents the undesired disclosure of confidential information that may be hidden within the steganographic data  112  associated with the content  110  through a steganographic technique. In one embodiment, the data leakage prevention software  120  modifies the steganographic data  112  to destroy or corrupt any hidden information. In one embodiment, the data leakage prevention software  120  analyzes the carrier modification information  122  to determine a number of bits to modify (e.g., flip) without perceptual quality degradation of the content. For example, the data leakage prevention software  120  accesses the carrier modification information  122  and selects one or more pre-determined PSNR values, which may be used to compute the number of bits of the redundant data (e.g., the carrier) to modify with little or no noticeable loss in perceptual quality. 
     In another embodiment, the data leakage prevention software  120  modifies the steganographic data  112  by randomly changing a number of less significant bits (e.g., a Least Significant Bit (LSB)) of the redundant data. After the modification, the data leakage prevention software  120  compares the PSNR value (i.e., a measurement of perceptual quality) with the carrier modification information  122  to determine whether the modified version of the content is to be transmitted. For example, if the PSNR value is within an acceptable range of PSNR values, then there is a strong likelihood that any hidden information is corrupted and the modified content  126  has little or no perceptual quality loss. Therefore, the modified version of the content may be transmitted to the illicit computer  106 . As another example, if the PSNR value exceeds each and every acceptable PSNR value, then one or more additional bits may need to be modified in order to corrupt the steganographic data  112  without perceptual quality degradation. As yet another example, if the PSNR value falls below each and every acceptable PSNR value, then the steganographic data  112  may need to modified with one or more fewer bits in order to maintain an acceptable (i.e., minimal) perceptual quality. 
     In another embodiment, the data leakage prevention software  120  cooperates with the perceptual quality module  124  and the carrier modification information  122  to filter the content  110  being transmitted from the user computer  102  to the illicit computer  106 . In one embodiment, the data leakage prevention software  120  determines one or more bits of the steganographic data  112  that may be modified based on an acceptable PSNR value. The data leakage prevention software  120  utilizes the perceptual quality module  124  and the carrier modification information  122  to determine an extent to which the steganographic data  112  may be modified (i.e., an extent of perceptual quality loss) such that any hidden information is corrupted and destroyed. In another embodiment, the data leakage prevention software  120  adds noise (e.g., Gaussian noise) to modify the steganographic data  112  within the content  110  where any hidden information is beyond recovery. As a result, the modified content  126  is communicated to the illicit computer  106  with little or no loss in perceptual quality of the content after modification. 
     As an example and not as a limitation, the user of the user computer  102  may wish to communicate hidden information (e.g., engineering specifications, source code, trade secrets, defense plans and the like) to an illicit computer  106 . The user of the user computer  102  may utilize steganography to hide such information within an image that is attached to an email. The filter  104  prevents any potential data leakage by modifying the image attached to the email (e.g., redundant data associated with the image) such that any hidden information is corrupted and/or destroyed with a minimal perceptual quality loss. 
     In one embodiment, the data leakage prevention software  120  determines a number of bits that may be changed in order to corrupt any information hidden in the image based upon acceptable PSNR values that are pre-determined to most likely result in no perceptual quality degradation. In one embodiment, the perceptual quality of an image is allowed to degrade within a pre-defined threshold of an acceptable PSNR value. As an example and not as a limitation one or more Least Significant Bits (LSBs) of the image are to be modified to create a modified version of the image with a PSNR value that is between two or more pre-determined PSNR values, such as fifteen dB (decibels) and twenty-five dB. As mentioned above, the PSNR value is computed between the image and the modified version of the image. Based on the computed PSNR value, the data leakage prevention software  120  prevents or permits the transmission of the email. 
     In addition, the hidden information may not be corrupted or destroyed if the computed PSNR value exceeds twenty-five dB. If the computed PSNR value exceeds twenty-five Db, then an insufficient number of bits were modified. Accordingly, the modified version of the content  110  should not be transmitted because there is a strong likelihood that the hidden information is not completely corrupted or destroyed. In one embodiment, a larger number or bits of the redundant data are to be modified in order to produce a PSNR value between fifteen dB and twenty-five dB. 
     There may be a noticeable difference in perceptual quality if the computed PSNR value falls below fifteen dB. If the computed PSNR value falls below fifteen Db, then an excessive number of bits were modified. In one embodiment, a smaller number of bits of the redundant data are to be modified. A policy associated with the data leakage prevention software  120  is used to determine an next action for the email (e.g., prevent or permit transmission, notify administrator, quarantine the email and/or the like). According to one embodiment, the modified version of the steganographic data  112  is not to be transmitted because there is a strong likelihood of perceptual quality degradation to some degree. For example, audio data attached to the modified version of the steganographic data  126  may have low perceptual quality because too many bits were modified (e.g., flipped). In one embodiment, a larger number or bits of the redundant data are to be modified in order to produce a PSNR value between fifteen dB and twenty-five dB. 
     If the computed PSNR value is within the pre-defined threshold of fifteen dB and twenty-five dB, then the modified steganographic data  126  may be transmitted because any information hidden through steganography has been corrupted with little or no perceptual quality degradation. Moreover, the corrupted steganographic data  128  is not usable at the illicit computer. Furthermore, the carrier modification information  122  is updated with the computed PSNR value and the number of less significant bits. In one embodiment, the perceptual quality module  124  uses a machine learning technique (e.g., Bayesian Classifier) to determine one or more acceptable PSNR values for modifying the redundant data within the steganographic data  112  without perceptual quality degradation. 
     Exemplary PSNR and MSE equations are listed below. The variables N and M refer to a width (e.g., pixel width) and a height (e.g., pixel height) of an image, respectively. B refers to a number of pixels in which less significant bits may be modified. P T  refers an acceptable PSNR value according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Each pixel is considered to have eight bits. Hence, a maximum pixel value is 255. It is appreciated that various embodiments of the present invention may employ different techniques for measuring perceptual quality of content (e.g., Perceptual Speech Quality Measure (PSQM) for voice data, Perceptual Audio Quality Measurement (PAQM) method for audio data, PSNR for video data and/or the like). 
     
       
         
           
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     In reference to the exemplary equations mentioned above, if an acceptable PSNR value (P T ) is 25 dB and N=M=100, then B is computed to be 6502 pixels. In order to maintain a perceptual quality of 25 dB in a 100 pixel×100 pixel image, then Least Significant Bits of 6502 pixels may be modified without perceptual quality degradation. Subsequently, the 6502 (or less) pixels may be randomly chosen and modified. If P T =30 dB (i.e., better perceptible quality), then B is computed to be 650. These equations may not be applicable if bits other than the Least Significant Bits are also modified in the signal. 
       FIG. 2  is a flow diagram of a method  200  for modifying a carrier to prevent data leakage according to one embodiment. The method  200  starts at step  202  and proceeds to step  204 , at which a message is processed. The message includes content as an attachment. As explained above, the content includes steganographic data (e.g., the steganographic data  112  of  FIG. 1 ). 
     At step  206 , carrier modification information (e.g., the carrier modification information  122  of  FIG. 1 ) is accessed. At step  208 , a peak signal to noise ratio for modifying the steganographic data is established. At step  210 , one or more bits to modify in order to corrupt any information hidden in the steganographic data without perceptual quality degradation are determined. At step  212 , the one or more bits are modified. In one embodiment, the one or more less significant bits of the steganographic data are flipped. At step  214 , the message is transmitted. The method  200  ends at step  216 . 
       FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of a method  300  for generating carrier modification information according to one embodiment. The method  300  starts at step  302  and proceeds to step  304 , at which content is accessed. At step  306 , an image is processed. At step  308 , the image (e.g., pixel values) is modified. In one embodiment, one or more Less Significant Bits (LBSs) of the pixel values are randomly changed. 
     At step  310 , a PSNR value for the image and the modified image is computed. At step  312 , a perceptual quality based on the PSNR value is determined. At step  314 , a determination is made as to there is perceptual quality degradation in the modified image. In one embodiment, a determination is made as to whether there is a noticeable loss in perceptual quality of the modified image. If, it is determined that there is no perceptual quality degradation in the modified image (option “NO”) then the method  300  proceeds to step  316 . At step  316 , the PSNR value is stored as an acceptable value for modifying the image without perceptual quality degradation. For example, carrier modification information may indicate acceptable PSNR values. If the PSNR value is lower than each and every acceptable PSNR value, then there is perceptual quality degradation of the modified image. If the PSNR value is greater than one or more acceptable PSNR values, then there is no perceptual quality degradation. 
     If, at step  314  it is determined that there is perceptual quality degradation in the image (option “YES”), then the method  300  proceeds to step  318 . In one embodiment, fewer bits within the redundant data of the image are modified in order to increase the perceptual quality of the content after modification and avoid perceptual quality degradation. At step  318 , a determination is made as to whether there are more images to be processed. If, it is determined that there are more images to be processed (option “YES”), then the method  300  returns to step  306 . If, at step  318  it is determined that no more images are to be processed then the method  300  proceeds to step  320 . The method  300  ends at step  320 . 
     While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.

Technology Category: 5