Editing Steganography (section)

===Alleged use by intelligence services===
In 2010, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] alleged that the [[Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)|Russian foreign intelligence service]] uses customized steganography software for embedding encrypted text messages inside image files for certain communications with "illegal agents" (agents without diplomatic cover) stationed abroad.<ref>{{cite web|title=Criminal complaint by Special Agent Ricci against alleged Russian agents|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/documents/062810complaint2.pdf|publisher=United States Department of Justice}}</ref>

On 23 April 2019 the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Xiaoqing Zheng, a Chinese businessman and former Principal Engineer at General Electric, with 14 counts of conspiring to steal intellectual property and trade secrets from General Electric. Zheng had allegedly used steganography to exfiltrate 20,000 documents from General Electric to Tianyi Aviation Technology Co. in Nanjing, China, a company the FBI accused him of starting with backing from the Chinese government.<ref>{{cite web|title=GE Engineer Charged in Elaborate Theft of Trade Secrets|url=https://blog.twinstate.com/news/ge-trade-secrets-theft|publisher=Twinstate Technologies}}</ref>