Abstract
This paper proposes a novel quantum color image steganography algorithm using an efficient embedding technique of exploiting modification direction (EMD). In this paper, the EMD algorithm is improved to reduce the number of modified pixels and smooth the noticeable changes at both ends of the histogram of hidden images. Besides, a fractional-order chaotic system is proposed to increase the security of secret information. The effective quantum circuit for the quantum steganography algorithm is also presented in this paper. The simulation and numerical analysis demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has good performance in imperceptibility analysis, capacity analysis and security analysis.
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Data availability statement
The used datasets analyzed during the current study are openly available from http://sipi.usc.edu/database/, and the data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos: 61702356), National Natural Science Foundation of ShanXi Province (Nos: 201801D121143).
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Xie, Hw., Gao, Yj., Liu, Xl. et al. A novel exploiting modification direction scheme and its application in quantum color image steganography. Quantum Inf Process 21, 249 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11128-022-03596-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11128-022-03596-5