For any given host image or group of host images and any (block) transform domain of interest, we find the signature vector that when used for spread-spectrum (SS) message embedding maximizes the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) at the output of the corresponding maximum-SINR linear filter. We establish that, under a (colored) Gaussian assumption on the transform domain host data, the same derived signature minimizes host distortion for any target message recovery error rate and maximizes the Shannon capacity of the covert steganographic link. Then, we derive jointly optimal signature and linear processor designs for SS embedding in linearly modified transform domain host data and demonstrate orders of magnitude improvement over current SS steganographic practices. Optimized multisignature/multimessage embedding in the same host data is studied as well.

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