What is the process of embedding a message into the least significant bits of a binary file called?

The process of embedding a message into the least significant bits of a binary file is known as steganography. This technique is used to hide a message within another medium, such as an image, audio file, or video. By altering the least significant bits, which represent the smallest amount of information, the changes remain imperceptible to the human eye or ear. This allows the concealed message to be transmitted or stored without drawing attention to itself.

Steganography differs from traditional cryptographic methods, where the focus is on making the content unintelligible to unauthorized users. Instead, steganography seeks to hide the existence of the information altogether. In this context, masking, as well as asymmetric and symmetric cryptography, do not apply directly to the concept of embedding messages within other files, as their primary purposes relate to securing data through various forms of encryption.