Methods of information hiding in military communication and information systems: analysis and prospects

Military information and communication systems play a key role in ensuring the planning, coordination, and operational command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine units in combat conditions. One of the most critical tasks in such systems is to ensure the authenticity and resistance to interception of mission-critical information. This underscores the relevance of researching information hiding, particularly steganographic, cryptographic, and combined methods for ensuring information integrity. In the context of growing threats from enemy electronic warfare and cyberattacks, the need arises to evaluate the effectiveness and practical application of each method. The research problem lies in the fact that the separate use of steganographic or cryptographic methods has a number of limitations that can be overcome through their integration in a combined approach. The purpose of the article is to systematize and comparatively analyze modern methods of information hiding in military information and communication systems, as well as to substantiate the expediency of using a combined method as the most effective for protecting the exchange and content of information messages in the conditions of modern information warfare. The study employed methods of comparative analysis, critical literature review, and systemic generalization. The article analyzes the main types of steganographic and cryptographic methods, characterizes their key advantages and disadvantages, presents a block diagram of the combined method, and evaluates its effectiveness based on key criteria: resistance to detection, resource intensity, transmission speed, and applicability in combat conditions. The research results indicate that combined methods provide multi-layered data protection, which significantly complicates the interception, analysis, or modification of the information flow. They allow for reducing the risks of detecting the message transmission itself and ensure the protection of its content even if the communication channel is compromised. The feasibility of widespread implementation of combined information hiding methods in military information and communication systems is substantiated, taking into account the command level, combat environment conditions, and potential threats. A promising area for further research is the development of a methodology for assessing information integrity in military information and communication systems, based on defining indicators that consider modern methods of information hiding.