A complex data hiding algorithm for secure image transmission and covert communication

A secure image transmission method is presented, which transforms an input secret image into a secret-fragment-visible-mosaic image of the same size. The mosaic image appears to be like a freely chosen target image and can be utilized as a cover of the secret image. It is produced by splitting the secret image into small rectangular blocks and changing the color characteristics of these blocks to match with the respective target image blocks. Proficient techniques are intended to perform the color transformation process to retrieve the secret image almost without any loss. The generated mosaic image is embedded with the data required for retrieving the secret image using lossless data hiding plan controlled by a key. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is represented by the good results of the experiment