From: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 94 08:56:59 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Steganography by CAD
Message-ID: <199408031555.LAA08226@pipe2.pipeline.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Responding to msg by a.brown@nexor.co.uk (Andrew Brown) on Wed, 
3 Aug  1:17 PM

Andy:


Features for concealment of plain or cyphertext by CAD 
programs:

1.  Plain or cyphertext can be imported by each letter, by 
sentence, by block of text; then manipulated by the CAD program 
as one or multiple concealed CAD entities.

2.  Text manipulation includes:

    Reduce to any scale.
    Place on hidden layers.
    Hide by other entities.
    Distort to a variety of shapes.
    And otherwise disfigure the text into non-recognizable 
forms.

3.  In addition, there are a host of CAD-features for further, 
multiple, transformations of the text, including algorithmic 
permutations.

4.  Subsequent manipulation of the CAD document may include 
exporting to other proprietary and generic CAD formats.

5.  CAD document may then be transmitted plain (in the selected 
CAD format) or encrypted for transmission.

6.  The recipient uses a CAD program (and decryption program if 
needed) to restore the concealed text to its original encrypted 
form.  It is exported to the original encryption program for 
decryption. 

7.  Caveat 1:  While this manipulation will be invisible or 
camouflaged in the CAD document the underlying code of the 
program will provide clues.  However, it should be possible to 
encrypt these clues.

8.  Caveat 2:  Sender and recipient will need to exchange 
protocols, by encrypted transmission probably, for restoring 
the concealed text.

9.  Caveat 3:  This is not elegant and requires little or no 
crypto competency.  But it can be easily done by a CAD operator 
to help conceal sophisticated crypto.


Comments?

John, an architect of the building codes domain.