Secure Video Steganography using ChaCha20 Encryption and Adaptive LSB

Abstract

Video steganography is a robust method for concealing confidential information within video files, ensuring data privacy, and safeguarding against unauthorized access. This study presents a secure video steganography technique incorporating the ChaCha20 encryption algorithm to bolster data security before embedding. ChaCha20, recognized for its agility and resilience to cryptographic threats, encrypts the hidden data before it is inserted into chosen video frames using the Least Significant Bit (LSB) method. This ensures minimal misrepresentation and preserves the perceptual quality of the video while providing a strong layer of security. In this proposed system, once input files are selected, the ChaCha20 algorithm automatically generates a key file. This key file is then used to retrieve the concealed information, ensuring a smooth and secure decryption process. The concealed data is extracted and decrypted accurately at the receiver\'s end. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves high noiselessness, low computational overhead, and vigorous security, making it a reliable solution for secure video-based communication.

Introduction

In the digital era, protecting private information online is critical due to rising cyber threats. Traditional encryption alone is insufficient; thus, video steganography—a method of hiding data within video files—is employed for enhanced security by concealing both the message and its existence. Among steganography types, video steganography is preferred due to its high data capacity and robustness.

Conventional techniques like Least Significant Bit (LSB) substitution are simple but vulnerable to detection and compression. More advanced methods use transform domain techniques (DCT, DWT) or AI, offering better security but often with higher computational costs. Encryption combined with steganography improves security, but common algorithms like AES can be slow and resource-heavy.

The proposed system integrates the ChaCha20 stream cipher with video steganography, offering fast, efficient, and highly secure encryption that resists attacks while preserving video quality. The method encrypts secret messages with ChaCha20 before embedding them in selected video frames’ LSBs, ensuring minimal distortion and strong protection.

Performance evaluation using PSNR and SSIM metrics demonstrates that ChaCha20-based steganography maintains near-original video quality while securely hiding data, outperforming DES and LSB methods in security and video fidelity. Though ChaCha20 results in larger file sizes, it is the best choice when security and quality are priorities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, video steganography using the ChaCha20 encryption algorithm provides a secure and efficient way to hide sensitive data inside a video files. It ensures that strong data protection while keeping the video quality almost unchanged by embedding information in the least significant bits of video frames. Experimental results including PSNR and SSIM metrics confirm that this method works well with only a slight drop in video quality that’s mostly impossible to notice. This method enhances security by making sure that even if someone intercepts the video, they can’t access the hidden data without the correct key. It is also fast and efficient making it suitable for real time applications. Compared to older methods like DES and simple LSB steganography, ChaCha20 algorithm offers stronger protection against hacking and detection of secret message. However, challenges such as capacity limitations, vulnerability to lossy compression, and potential detection by steganalysis tools highlight areas for further improvement.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Keerthana Balli , Dr. Ch. D. V. Subba Rao. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.