new lanl patent?

[Robert Hettinga]

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X-Authentication-Warning: blacklodge.c2.net: majordom set sender to
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From: proff at iq.org
Date: 6 Nov 1997 06:35:37 -0000
To: cryptography at c2.net
Subject: new lanl patent?
Sender: owner-cryptography at c2.net


From: "Jongsma, Ken (NM75)" <ken.jongsma at das.honeywell.com>
Date: 24 Oct 1997 10:32:24 -0600
Subject: Hiding In Plain Sight

from the Oct 20 Aviation Week:

"Researchers at Los ALimos National Laboratory have patented a new
software technique that can hide secret information in the electronic
"noise" associated with the transmission of data and electronic
images.  Called "data embedding," the method allows classified data to
be stored and transferred in open transmissions and can serve as an
"electronic watermark" to prevent unauthorized manipulation of digital
images and other information, according to Ted Handel, project leader.
The software can be used on a desktop personal computer and consumes
only 512 kilobytes of memory, less than most word processing programs.
It is written in "C" computer language which conforms to virtually any
digital storage medium. Overall document length can remain the same."

Aside from the obvious errors in the story, do you suppose that someone
ought to clue the patent office in that steganography has existed for
quite a while now? If anyone would like to research the patent and
report back, it would be interesting to see what is so unique that the
could get a patent on it.

--
ken.jongsma at das.honeywell.com
505 828-5876 Voice
505 828-5500 Fax

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-----------------
Robert Hettinga (rah at shipwright.com), Philodox
e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
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experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/
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