Multi-channel covert communication model based on blockchain and social network

doi:10.11772/j.issn.1001-9081.2025060787

Journal of Computer Applications ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (7): 2152-2163.DOI: 10.11772/j.issn.1001-9081.2025060787

• Cyber security • Previous Articles

Multi-channel covert communication model based on blockchain and social network

Wei SHE¹^,², Kebing XIA¹^,², Jiawei MA¹^,², Wei LIU¹^,², Zhao TIAN¹^,²()

^1.School of Cyber Science and Engineering，Zhengzhou University，Zhengzhou Henan 450002，China
^2.Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Blockchain and Data Intelligence （Zhengzhou University），Zhengzhou Henan 450002，China

Received:2025-07-16 Revised:2025-09-05 Accepted:2025-09-11 Online:2025-09-24 Published:2026-07-10
Contact: Zhao TIAN
About author:SHE Wei， born in 1977， Ph. D.， professor. His research interests include blockchain， information security， intelligent systems.
XIA Kebing， born in 2002， M. S. candidate. His research interests include blockchain covert communication， blockchain.
MA Jiawei， born in 2000， M. S. candidate. His research interests include blockchain， information security.
LIU Wei， born in 1981， Ph. D.， associate professor. His research interests include blockchain， information security， smart healthcare.
Supported by:
National Key Research and Development Program of China(31703-3)

基于区块链和社交网络的多通道隐蔽通信模型

佘维¹^,², 夏克冰¹^,², 马佳伟¹^,², 刘炜¹^,², 田钊¹^,²()

^1.郑州大学网络空间安全学院，郑州 450002
^2.郑州市区块链与数据智能重点实验室（郑州大学），郑州 450002

通讯作者: 田钊
作者简介:佘维（1977—），男，湖南常德人，教授，博士，CCF会员，主要研究方向：区块链、信息安全、智能系统
夏克冰（2002—），男，河南郑州人，硕士研究生，主要研究方向：区块链隐蔽通信、区块链
马佳伟（2000—），男，河南商丘人，硕士研究生，主要研究方向：区块链、信息安全
刘炜（1981—），男，河南安阳人，副教授，博士，CCF会员，主要研究方向：区块链、信息安全、智慧医疗
基金资助:
国家重点研发计划项目(31703-3)

Abstract

Abstract:

To address the problems of single-channel vulnerability， low transmission efficiency， and security risks when combined with the InterPlanetary File System （IPFS） in the existing blockchain covert communication models， a multi-channel covert communication model based on blockchain and social network was proposed. First， the Content IDentifier （CID） returned after uploading secret files to IPFS was split into multiple shares using the Shamir secret sharing algorithm. Second， an embedding algorithm based on Ethereum smart contracts and another based on zero-width characters in social networks were designed to achieve cross-channel collaborative transmission of shares. Third， a redundant share mechanism was introduced， so that the CID could still be reconstructed under unstable network or partial share loss conditions， and the share parameters were supported to be adjusted dynamically to meet different security， latency， and cost requirements. Finally， the receiver was required to extract a sufficient number of shares reaching the recovery threshold from Ethereum and social networks to reconstruct the CID， thereby retrieving the secret information from IPFS. Experimental results show that with baseline parameters， the proposed model requires 21.02 s and only 1.01 USD to transmit 100 MB of data. Compared with comparison models， the transmission efficiency of the proposed model is reduced from the minute level to the second level with the cost reduced by at least 40%， and the model demonstrates superior security and robustness， making it suitable for efficient， secure， and low-cost covert transmission of large-scale data.

Key words: covert communication, blockchain, smart contract, social network, Shamir secret sharing, InterPlanetary File System (IPFS)

摘要：

针对现有的区块链隐蔽通信模型单一信道易受攻击、传输效率低以及与星际文件系统（IPFS）的结合存在安全隐患的问题，提出一种基于区块链和社交网络的多通道隐蔽通信模型。首先，利用Shamir秘密共享算法将上传秘密文件到IPFS后返回的内容标识符（CID）分割为多个分片；其次，分别设计基于以太坊智能合约的嵌入算法和社交网络基于零宽字符的嵌入算法，实现分片跨通道的协同传输；再次，引入冗余分片机制，在网络不稳定或部分分片丢失时仍可重构CID，并支持分片参数的动态调整以满足不同的安全性、时延和成本需求；最后，接收方需从以太坊和社交网络中提取达到恢复阈值的分片数量以重构CID，从而从IPFS检索秘密信息。实验结果表明，本文模型在基准参数下传输100 MB数据时耗时21.02 s，而通信成本仅1.01美元。与对比模型相比，本文模型在传输效率上从分钟级降低至秒级，成本降低了至少40%，并展现出优异的安全性和鲁棒性，适用于大规模数据高效、安全且低成本的隐蔽传输场景。

关键词: 隐蔽通信, 区块链, 智能合约, 社交网络, Shamir秘密共享, 星际文件系统

CLC Number:

TP309.2

Wei SHE, Kebing XIA, Jiawei MA, Wei LIU, Zhao TIAN. Multi-channel covert communication model based on blockchain and social network[J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2026, 46(7): 2152-2163.

佘维, 夏克冰, 马佳伟, 刘炜, 田钊. 基于区块链和社交网络的多通道隐蔽通信模型[J]. 《计算机应用》唯一官方网站, 2026, 46(7): 2152-2163.

Figures/Tables 13

Fig. 1 Blockchain-based covert communication framework

Fig. 2 BSMCC model framework

Tab. 1 Explanation of main symbols in algorithms

符号	含义
m	隐蔽传输的原始文件
k	AES256加解密密钥
c	加密后的文件
h	加密文件上传IPFS后返回的CID值
S	Shamir分片集合，包含 $(x i, s i)$ 分片对
$S e$	通过以太坊传输的部分分片集合
$S s$	通过社交网络传输的部分分片集合
$x i$	Shamir分片的编号
$s i$	Shamir分片的内容
p	Shamir秘密分享中的大质数
AddrList	预协商的以太坊地址列表
ContractAddr	预协商的以太坊智能合约地址
FeeList	生成式对抗网络生成以太坊交易 maxPriorityFeePerGas值集合
P	社交网络候选平台集合
U	帖子或视频的链接集合
A	社交网络账户集合
x	区块链传输分片数量
y	社交网络传输分片数量

Tab. 1 Explanation of main symbols in algorithms

符号	含义
m	隐蔽传输的原始文件
k	AES256加解密密钥
c	加密后的文件
h	加密文件上传IPFS后返回的CID值
S	Shamir分片集合，包含 $(x i, s i)$ 分片对
$S e$	通过以太坊传输的部分分片集合
$S s$	通过社交网络传输的部分分片集合
$x i$	Shamir分片的编号
$s i$	Shamir分片的内容
p	Shamir秘密分享中的大质数
AddrList	预协商的以太坊地址列表
ContractAddr	预协商的以太坊智能合约地址
FeeList	生成式对抗网络生成以太坊交易 maxPriorityFeePerGas值集合
P	社交网络候选平台集合
U	帖子或视频的链接集合
A	社交网络账户集合
x	区块链传输分片数量
y	社交网络传输分片数量

Fig. 3 Transmission process of CID shares via Ethereum smart contracts

Tab. 2 Zero-width character support on mainstream social media platforms

社交媒体	评论区	私信
YouTube	√	√
微博	√	√
微信	√	√
Bilibili	×	√
Instagram	×	√
QQ	√	√
Twitter	√	√
抖音	×	√
腾讯视频	√	√
爱奇艺	√	√
Telegram	×	×

Fig. 4 Transmission process of CID shares via social networks using zero-width characters

Fig. 5 Logarithmic distribution of brute-force attack complexity across different n and t

Tab. 3 Detection performance of the CTR model on embedded transactions with different dataset sizes

数据规模	准确率	精确率	召回率	F1分数
20 000	0.512	0.508	0.503	0.505
100 000	0.531	0.526	0.517	0.521
200 000	0.523	0.519	0.511	0.515

Fig. 6 Time consumption of each step in BSMCC model

Tab. 4 Comparison of time for transmitting 100 MB of data

模型	时间量级
文献［8］模型	小时级
文献［9］模型	小时级
文献［10］模型	小时级
文献［11］模型	小时级
文献［12］模型	小时级
文献［13］模型	分钟级
文献［14］模型	分钟级
本文模型	秒级

Tab. 5 Comparison of cost for transmitting 100 MB of data

模型	费用/美元
文献［8］模型	$1.43 × 109$
文献［9］模型	$1.78 × 107$
文献［10］模型	$5.10 × 107$
文献［11］模型	$1.78 × 107$
文献［12］模型	$1.33 × 107$
文献［13］模型	$1.84 × 102$
文献［14］模型	1.70
本文模型	1.01

Tab. 5 Comparison of cost for transmitting 100 MB of data

模型	费用/美元
文献［8］模型	$1.43 × 109$
文献［9］模型	$1.78 × 107$
文献［10］模型	$5.10 × 107$
文献［11］模型	$1.78 × 107$
文献［12］模型	$1.33 × 107$
文献［13］模型	$1.84 × 102$
文献［14］模型	1.70
本文模型	1.01

Fig. 7 Comparison of transmission success probability among BSMCC model and comparison models

Tab. 6 Performance metrics under different share parameter combinations

n	t	x	y	暴力破解复杂度	传输时间/s	费用/美元	容错率/%
4	3	2	2	$2384$	20.82	1.01	25.0
5	4	2	3	$2512$	21.02	1.01	20.0
6	4	3	3	$2512$	22.72	1.52	33.3
6	5	2	4	$2640$	22.08	1.01	16.7
7	5	3	4	$2640$	22.98	1.52	28.6
7	6	2	5	$2768$	22.32	1.01	14.3
8	5	4	4	$2640$	23.87	2.03	37.5
8	6	3	5	$2768$	23.12	1.52	25.0
8	7	2	6	$2896$	22.68	1.01	12.5
9	6	4	5	$2768$	24.12	2.03	33.3
9	7	3	6	$2896$	23.45	1.52	22.2
9	8	2	7	$2 1 024$	22.40	1.01	11.1
10	6	5	5	$2768$	25.32	2.54	40.0
10	7	4	6	$2896$	24.78	2.03	30.0
10	8	3	7	$2 1 024$	23.66	1.52	20.0
10	9	2	8	$2 1 152$	22.62	1.01	10.0

Tab. 6 Performance metrics under different share parameter combinations

n	t	x	y	暴力破解复杂度	传输时间/s	费用/美元	容错率/%
4	3	2	2	$2384$	20.82	1.01	25.0
5	4	2	3	$2512$	21.02	1.01	20.0
6	4	3	3	$2512$	22.72	1.52	33.3
6	5	2	4	$2640$	22.08	1.01	16.7
7	5	3	4	$2640$	22.98	1.52	28.6
7	6	2	5	$2768$	22.32	1.01	14.3
8	5	4	4	$2640$	23.87	2.03	37.5
8	6	3	5	$2768$	23.12	1.52	25.0
8	7	2	6	$2896$	22.68	1.01	12.5
9	6	4	5	$2768$	24.12	2.03	33.3
9	7	3	6	$2896$	23.45	1.52	22.2
9	8	2	7	$2 1 024$	22.40	1.01	11.1
10	6	5	5	$2768$	25.32	2.54	40.0
10	7	4	6	$2896$	24.78	2.03	30.0
10	8	3	7	$2 1 024$	23.66	1.52	20.0
10	9	2	8	$2 1 152$	22.62	1.01	10.0

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Multi-channel covert communication model based on blockchain and social network

基于区块链和社交网络的多通道隐蔽通信模型

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