Information Hiding Using Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm

This paper aims to find an effective and efficient information hiding method used for protecting secret information by embedding it in a cover media such as images. Finding the optimal set of the image pixel bits to be substituted by the secret message bits, such that the cover image is of high quality, is a complex process and there is an exponential number of feasible solutions. Two new ant-based algorithms are proposed and compared with other algorithms. The experimental results show that ant colony optimization algorithm can find the solution efficiently and effectively by finding the optimal set of pixel bits in a few number of iterations and with least Mean Square Error (MSE) comparable with genetic and genetic simulated annealing algorithms.