Tell me more ×
Ask Different is a question and answer site for power users of Apple hardware and software. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

I am using a key ring app on my iPhone and would like to see an improved or alternative version that makes additional use of security through obscurity in general, and steganography in particular.

What should happen is that the app allows me to select an image (or video segment, say) locally or in a Cloud (on flickr, say), and would then store my account information in there using steganographic techniques. The actual image would not be remembered by the app and would thus be obscure to any brute force attacker. This should work well, because its quite natural for many images, etc., to be stored and accessed on mobile devices. The app should still encrypt the key ring, and it should be careful about not creating a suspicious signal when placing encrypted content in the carrier medium.

Call it a steganographic key ring (or key chain; similar to a steganographic file system) then. My question is: Does such an app (already) exist?

share|improve this question
1  
I assume you are aware that security through obscurity doesn't give you much security at all? And regarding your question: Did you already search the app store for any steganography related applications? – patrix♦ Oct 10 '12 at 6:12
@patrix, thanks for your reply. I am aware of the limitations of security through obscurity, this is why I would also like to encrypt the key ring, as mentioned (i.e. security through cryptography plus obscurity, a somewhat common technique). And yes, of course I have searched the app store prior to posting the question. – Drux Oct 10 '12 at 16:06
The app you link to looks, well, not so good for several reasons. Looking at your question, I somehow assume your trust in this app is limited as well. Have you tried 1Password for iPhone? After all, this app exists, as opposed to any ideal steganographic solution. – myhd Oct 11 '12 at 7:53
@myhd thanks for the link to 1Password. It looks like another key ring app for iPhone to me, perhaps more feature rich than the one I'm using, but not fundamentally different. I.e. unless you can elaborate a bit more on those several reasons that make the latter inferior in your view ... BTW, in order to trust any key ring more substantially, I would have to see its cryptographic spec: at present specs are unknown for both existing apps. – Drux Oct 11 '12 at 18:34

1 Answer

up vote 0 down vote

A quick search reveals a range of steganography software and solutions for Mac.

The following all appear on the first page of results:

As @patrix mentions, security through obscurity provides little security. Be sure to encrypt files and information being embedded in images first.

Tools exist for mass checking images for embedded information and alterations. Search for an image potentially containing embedded information is a task well suited to those with plenty of computer power.

share|improve this answer
Graham Miln, thanks for your reply. Well, these are normal steganographic tools, and I am aware of their existence. They are not steganographic key rings, though. One could presumably use them approx. as such by managing account information inside a plain text file, say, but what I'm looking for a specialized application that offers more convenience, like a key ring app typically does. So it's about integrating steganography and key ring behavior. – Drux Oct 10 '12 at 16:12

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.