The US Army today announced the availability of licensing of its patent for "Spread Spectrum Image Steganography:" http://cryptome.org/usa-patent.htm (with copy of the patent) Patent Abstract The Spread Spectrum Image Steganography (SSIS) of the present invention is a data hiding/secret communication steganographic system which uses digital imagery as a cover signal. SSIS provides the ability to hide a significant quantity of information bits within digital images while avoiding detection by an observer. The message is recovered with low error probability due the use of error control coding. SSIS payload is, at a minimum, an order of magnitude greater than of existing watermarking methods. Furthermore, the original image is not needed to extract the hidden information. The proposed recipient need only possess a key in order to reveal the secret message. The very existence of the hidden information is virtually undetectable by human or computer analysis. Finally, SSIS provides resiliency to transmission noise, like that found in a wireless environment and low levels of compression. Patent No.: 6,557,103 Granted: April 29, 2003 Inventors: Boncelet, Jr.; Charles G. (Newark, DE); Marvel; Lisa M. (Churchville, MD); Retter; Charles T. (Belcamp, MD) Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army (Washington, DC)