Topic $5$ Assignment $($online$)$

Steganography

In this assignment, we will be creating steganography algorithms to hide data into a photo without changing its appearance.

You will begin by searching online for steganography code in each language and trying what you find.

You will also be adding GUI elements to enhance the end user experience.

You will demonstrate proficiency in the use of programming language to solve complex problems.

This assignment will be a challenge, as it requires you to pay close attention to not only the code here, but the code you've created in all other assignments thus far. You will need to analyze and compare details in code in order to learn what code differences equate with what functionalities.

This assignment will also challenge your abilities in making small changes to pre$-$existing code in order to achieve the desired results.

For this assignment, we will not be using Screenburst.

Part I: Stego with PowerShell

$$ Start by choosing which language you will use for encoding your secret message into a photo.

$$ Open your Azure Lab machine.

$$ Powershell: Open the Server VM within Hyper$-$V and open PowerShell.

$$ Choose a photo from the internet.

o Right$-$click on the photo, save$-$image, and download it to the desktop.

$$ If you search the web for "PowerShell steganography," you'll find that there are few results.

PowerShell was built for administrative tasks within Windows. Essentially, it is a more basic scripting language than Python. As a result, PowerShell may be easier to learn but definitely is not as powerful as Python.

$$ Reference the following video: Powershell For Hackers $$ Hide Message in Image

$$ Check the details for the video and access the GitHub.

$$ For PowerShell, the file should be named: stegoPowershell.ps$1$

$$ Copy and paste the code.

Don$$t forget to add your header and reference the YouTube video.

$$ Remove this code and place it at the bottom$$it is the function call.

Hide$-$Msg $-$Path $"$C:$\backslash$Users$\backslash$user$\backslash$Desktop$\backslash$secret$.$jpg$"-$Message "this is your secret message"

$$ Modify the path thus: $"$C:$\backslash$Users$\backslash$administrator$\backslash$Desktop$\backslash$secret$.$jpg$"$

$$ Replace secret.jpg with the downloaded file located on the desktop. Don't forget the $.$jpg or $.$png filename extension.

$$ Run the program.

$$ Take a screenshot.

$$ Double$-$click the image file to view it$.$

$$ As shown in the video, right$-$click the new secret image file and select Open with, then Select another app.

$$ Find Notepad and click OK$.$

$$ Scroll to the bottom and see your message.

$$ Take a screenshot of the message.

Within the IT$/$cybersecurity community, we rarely create code from scratch, as our tasks don't revolve around creating fully functional programs. We usually create scripts to perform small tasks and automate projects. As a result, we usually grab code from the internet$/$book$/$colleagues$,$ reference it in the header, and then modify the code for our needs.

Part II: Adding user prompts to PowerShell

Now, we are going to add GUI elements that prompt the user for the file path and the secret message. We're going to use AI to help us a bit here.

$$ Copy your code from Part I.

$$ Prompt: How can I add user prompts to this code? $($Press shift$+$enter here and paste your code.$)$

$$ Grab the resulting code, copy$/$paste it into PowerShell, and run it$.$ You may need to move the PowerShell window in order to see relevant dialog box.

$$ Take a screenshot of the entire PowerShell window.

$$ You may notice that the following unnecessary code is still included in the AI output. Remove it from your code, and rerun the code.

$$ How did the program run differently than before?

$$ Take a screenshot of the entire PowerShell Window.

Notice that AI is not perfect. On the job, it$$s a great research tool to learn skills, but it's not going to do your job for you.

Part III: Changing User Prompts to GUI Prompts in PowerShell

$$ Copy your code again, and open a generative AI tool.

$$ Prompt: How can I change the user prompts to GUI prompts in this code? $($Press shift$+$enter here and paste your code.$)$

$$ Paste your code back into PowerShell and run it$.$

Sometimes when troubleshooting code, you need to compare$/$contrast with earlier versions of your code that functioned appropriately. You can do this by adding a new Python file to the project, and changing the name to include what features changed, then comparing the two.

This is often the best way to learn $($and troubleshoot$)$ code that you've found on the internet.

$$ Did it work? If not, regenerate the code in a generative AI tool and try again.

$$ Once you get the code to work, how exactly is it different from the prior code?

$$ If the dialog box is too large or small, you can change the dimensions on this line:

$$ Now, for a zero$-$point challenge: Change the path prompt to be a file$-$chooser dialog box instead of a text box.

Part IV: Stego with Python

$$ Python: Use Pycharm in the Azure Lab

o Reference the a