Data security comprises of concealing secret image, documents, audio or video on any other files with an intention of preserving the secret data from the attacker. Several works available in the literature reported that the steganography have the risk of secret information being repossessed by anunidentifiedperson. Therefore, an effective encryption-based image steganography technique is essential. This paper presents a new Optimal Pixel Selection with Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) based Image Steganography Method called OPSDWT-ISM. The presented OPSDWT-ISM model involves both encryption and steganography processes. Primarily, the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) technique is applied for the image decomposition process. Afterward, the optimal pixel points will be chosen using butterfly optimization algorithm (BOA). At the same time, the secret image is also decomposed into three individual R, G, and B elements which are then encrypted using data encryption standard (DES), blowfish, and Arnold cat map techniques respectively. Finally, the encrypted images are embedded to the chosen pixel points of the cover image. At the receiver side, inverse DWT process is employed followed by decryption and extraction for the retrieval of secrete image. A detailed experimentation analysis showcased the betterment of the presented model over the existing methods under distinct dimensions.

Data security, Steganography, Encryption, DWT, Pixel selection