Importance of Integrating Cryptography, Steganography, and Digital Watermarking for Undergraduate Curriculum

Cryptography is the art of obscuring information by scrambling the content of a file. Steganography, the art of information concealing information, embeds secret information into an unsuspicious carrier document without revealing its presence. Watermarking, a subarea under steganography, embeds copyright information into a document. The goal of both cryptography and steganography is to protect a message from falling into the hands of unintended third parties. The goal of watermarking is to assert copyright to protect intellectual property. <br><br>All of these technologies are advancing rapidly. Scientists and researchers are developing more secure and efficient ways to achieve its goals. At the same time, hackers, malvertisers (web advertisers that have hidden and mischievous malwares), and criminals are continuing their efforts to exploit the capabilities of cryptography and steganography for criminal intent. Criminals increasingly use these technologies for information stealing, leaking, malvertising, and intellectual rights violations. <br><br>The shortage of trained professionals has resulted in a surge in the demand for people with these skills. The issue is that academic institutions provide limited training in the field. The course content may only contain a few paragraphs or chapters. This paper presents the importance of these technologies and the need for it to be its own course. A whole course would promote a deeper understanding of these technologies needed for careers in cybersecurity.