History of Steganography

Steganography ancient origins can be traced back to,

• Herodotus, about 450 A.D., who shaved the head of his most trusted slave and tattooed a message on it. After his hair had grown the message was hidden. The purpose was to instigate a revolt against the Persians.

• Demeratus sent a warning about a forthcoming attack to Greece by writing it on a wooden panel and covering it in wax.

• Aineas Taktikosz : Poliokretika (360 A.D.). Every nth letter of a plaintext had to be read, or nth letters of the words.

• Passing through a thread on holes of a pottery disc whose holes are meant different letters greed in advance.

• Letters on a certain page of a book signed by hardly visible dots. It is applicable for newspapers or letters as well.

• Sewing into clothes, shoes, collar of a dog, rein of a horse, or anything else.

• Writing it onto a blown bladder of a cow, then compressing the bladder.

• Writing between the rows of an innocent text by invisible ink.

  Naturally our ancestors applied secret writings as well. They used both substitution and permutation of letters and other codes for light signals.