Hybrid Encryption and Stenography System
Abstract
In today’s digital world, protecting sensitive information is a major challenge. With rising cyber threats, unauthorized access, and data breaches, traditional security methods usually focus just on encrypting data. They often overlook the need for hiding that data. The Hybrid Encryption and Steganography System (HESS) offers a dual-layer security approach. It combines strong cryptographic protection with techniques for hidden data transmission. We combine AES-256-GCM authenticated encryption and image-based Least Significant Bit steganography to guarantee both the privacy of data and camouflage from an adversary. Any data that is embedded into an image is first securely encrypted using cryptographic keys derived from the password. So even if hidden data can be discovered, it won’t be able to be read without the appropriate credentials. The unified workflow combining encryption and steganography greatly increases resistance to interception and analysis. HESS key feature is zero-knowledge, client-side architecture. The mentioned cryptographic and steganographic operations are performed client-side in the browser using state-of-the-art web features like the Web Crypto API or Canvas API. Additionally, it has no sensitive data about users and their passwords or files that can be sent to outside servers thus lowering attack surfaces while improving user privacy. In order to guarantee portability and independence from centralised storage systems, the encrypted output files are self-contained and embed necessary metadata within structured headers. Evaluation of the system’s performance shows that it can process small to moderately large files with little perceptual distortion in stego-images. Future expansion is possible without requiring architectural restructuring thanks to the modular design’s improved scalability and maintainability. All things considered, HESS offers a useful, privacy-conscious solution for safe file storage and private correspondence. The system achieves a balanced combination of security, usability, and performance appropriate for contemporary digital applications by combining strong encryption with covert data embedding in a fully client-side environment.