Cryptography vs. Steganography

Cryptography is the practice of ‘scrambling’ messages so that even if detected, they are very difficult to decipher. The purpose of Steganography is to conceal the message such that the very existence of the hidden is ‘camouflaged’. However, the two techniques are not mutually exclusive.

Steganography and Cryptography are in fact complementary techniques. No matter how strong algorithm, if an encrypted message is discovered, it will be subject to cryptanalysis. Likewise, no matter how well concealed a message is, it is always possible that it will be discovered. By combining Steganography with Cryptography we can conceal the existence of an encrypted message. In doing this, we make it far less likely that an encrypted message will be found. Also, if a message concealed through Steganography is discovered, the discoverer is still faced with the formidable task of deciphering it.