"The Good, The Bad And The Ugly": Evaluation of Wi-Fi Steganography

In this paper we propose a new method for the evaluation of network steganography algorithms based on the new concept of “the moving observer”. We considered three levels of undetectability named: “good”, “bad”, and “ugly”. To illustrate this method we chose Wi-Fi steganography as a solid family of information hiding protocols. We present the state of the art in this area covering well-known hiding techniques for 802.11 networks. “The moving observer” approach could help not only in the evaluation of steganographic algorithms, but also might be a starting point for a new detection system of network steganography. The concept of a new detection system, called MoveSteg, is explained in detail. Index Terms — network steganography, information hiding, network security, Wi-Fi, 802.11, moving observer