Encoding covert messages in an mp3

MODS, I'm not sure where best to put this - so grateful if you can move if it's in the wrong section. Thanks.

I previously posted this in my introduction - but it got swiftly deleted as it "wasn't an intro" - I beg to differ, as it's only the tip of the iceberg of what I want to "put out there". It was an introduction of what I'm in to. What am I in to? Data and information that's what. So here goes.

There are many ways in which people hide information as it is sent to each other in a data network. This is one of the more basic ways that is in widespread use today. I want to start off basic before we get into the really fun stuff. So bare with me - hope you enjoy...

Hiding information in an MP3.

Step one: Open up your mp3 in your favourite text editor ; for me, the weapon of choice is VIM.



Here it is opened up - you'll see the basic mp3 header - the song track, album etc etc... then the coded "music" data:



Step two: Scroll past the @ symbols:



You're still in the header - but you're not going to corrupt the file here (much)

Step three: Type in your message (you can encrypt it here *which you probably should*, but this is only a basic tutorial - encryption will be covered in a later post)



- Save the changes.. (:wq in vim)

Step four: Play the mp3...



I provided the above screen dump to show the line, "Note: Illegal Audio-MPEG-Header ... at offset 6382" This shows that the mp3 has been corrupted (with your message) it will still play as normal - and if this was opened in say "Media Player" or "Winamp" or any other GUI application - there will be no errors and the mp3 will play as normal. Not many people play mp3s on the command line so you should be OK in the knowledge that your message will go undetected. (Except those that know the message is deployed )

Thanks for reading - more to come.

coder22


Oh and here's a tip - If you've downloaded any mp3s - try looking in the header - you might be surprised at what you find. This is more common than you think.

Cool really interesting! I love stuff like this I'm a programmer myself.

reply to post by coder22


Cool, i hadnt thought of this one nice
reminds me a bit of encoding data into images, which can only be unlocked with a key.
steganography
theres software online
mozaiq.org...

reply to post by roughycannon


Yeah, this is a method that is known to be used by terrorists - they get an album, corrupt it with messages (usually encrypted at the header as the OP shows but sometimes not) - they then burn to disk. If caught, the cd plays as normal in a cd player - but it's actually full of covert messages.

PS loving your avatar!

That reminds me of this article:

10 Mind-Blowing Easter Eggs Hidden in Famous Albums
www.cracked.com...

Great find!
It's good to see linux didn't throw up an error and stop playing!
RIAA will start encoding MP3'S! hahahha