What is the study associated with writing hidden messages called?

The study associated with writing hidden messages is known as steganography. This practice involves concealing the existence of a message within another medium, such as an image, audio file, or text. The primary goal of steganography is to keep the communication secret by making it appear innocuous, thus preventing potential interception or detection by unauthorized parties.

Steganography differs from cryptography, where the message is transformed into an unreadable format without hiding its existence. While cryptography focuses on encrypting the content of a message to protect its confidentiality, steganography hides the very fact that a message is being sent.

In digital forensics and cybersecurity, understanding steganography is crucial as it can be used both for legitimate purposes, such as watermarking digital media, and for malicious intents, such as concealing data exfiltration activities. This makes it important for forensic investigators to be able to recognize and understand steganographic techniques during an investigation.