A Multi-Layer Secure and Quality-Preserving Image Sharing Framework Using LSB Steganography, AES Encryption, and Shamir’s Secret Sharing

Abstract

The growing use of digital images in sensitive applications demands secure transmission and storage mechanisms. Conventional encryption protects data confidentiality but reveals the existence of secret communication, while steganography conceals information without strong protection once detected. Secret sharing schemes provide distributed security but often generate image-based shares with increased overhead.

This paper proposes a multi-layer secure image sharing framework that integrates LSB steganography, AES encryption, and Shamir’s Secret Sharing Scheme. Secret data is first embedded into a cover image using LSB steganography, encrypted using AES, and then divided into threshold-based binary shares using Shamir’s scheme. The proposed approach ensures imperceptibility, strong confidentiality, and threshold-based access control while preserving image quality and reducing storage overhead, making it suitable for secure image communication and distributed storage applications.