Chaos-based steganography technique to secure information and integrity preservation of smart grid readings using wavelet

In recent years, smart grids have attracted much attention due to their digital properties. Smart grids play a vital role in transmitting the collected readings of meter and other sensitive information of customers through the public network. Therefore, the confidentiality of consumers’ information and integrity protection of periodically collected readings are required for better assessment. This paper presents a novel technique of steganography based on wavelet and Hénon chaotic map to achieve integrity and authentication. Periodically collected readings are used as a cover object for hiding information of smart meter and consumer. The discrete wavelet transform is used to decompose readings into sub-band coefficients and used as a cover object. Sensitive information is converted into cipher using Hénon chaotic map. Stego readings are constructed with negligible distortion in original readings after concealing bits into a cover object by applying double-precision floating-point format. Percentage residual difference (PRD) test has been performed between stego and original readings as well as reconstructed readings. PRD test values have been observed to be very less than other existing algorithms. Experimental results illustrate that the proposed algorithm is reliable, robust and highly sensitive to its initial key, and retrieval of information at receiver’s end is not labyrinthine.