This paper presents a novel method for reducing additive distortion in steganography by embedding two bits of information in a pixel and altering only one bit from a specific bit plane, thus minimizing visibility during detection. The approach leverages a syndrome-coding scheme with the Viterbi algorithm and incorporates encryption via DES for security, demonstrating robustness against common attacks in steganographic applications. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method achieves a high level of security while maintaining quality across various image formats.