A Framework for Reversible Data Embedding into Base45 and Other Non-Base64 Encoded Strings

Abstract

Printable string encodings are widely used in several applications that cannot deal with binary data, the most known example being the mail system. In this paper, we investigate the potential of some of the proposed encodings to hide and carry extra information. We describe a framework for reversibly embedding data in printable string encodings, like Base45. The method leverages the characteristic of some encodings that are not surjective by using illegal configurations to embed one bit of information. With the assumption of uniformly distributed binary input data, an estimation of the expected payload can be computed easily. Results are reported for Base45 and Base85 encodings.

Keywords

• data hiding
• watermarking
• authentication
• integrity protection
• printable encoding
• binary-to-text conversion