Difference between revisions of "Encryption"

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=TRC Video=
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<youtube>Fso4xTG2FMw</youtube>
  
== Definitions ==
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fso4xTG2FMw
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=Definitions=
  
 
'''Plain text''' - The data in human readable form.
 
'''Plain text''' - The data in human readable form.
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'''Cipher text''' - The encrypted data which can only be understood if decrypted.
 
'''Cipher text''' - The encrypted data which can only be understood if decrypted.
  
== Caesar Cipher ==
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=Encryption Methods=
 
 
The creator was Julius Caesar.
 
It is a substitution cipher which works by shifting letters by a number. The easiest way to look at a caesar cipher is to think of an inner and outer wheel, each wheel has the letters of the alphabet on its edge. When the letter A on both wheels are aligned the shift is 0 as in the image below:
 
 
 
[[File:Caesar-shift-0.jpg]]
 
 
 
The shift turns the inner wheel a specific number of spaces.  The image below shows a shift of 7:
 
 
 
[[File:Caesar-shift-7.jpg]]
 
 
 
===Issues with Caesar Cipher===
 
  
*There are only 25 possible keys, 26 makes the same output as the input so is just like a shift of 0. Any shift above 26, eg 45 will create an identical output as one of the shifts between 1 & 25.
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[[Caesar / Substitution Cipher]]
*This cipher only encrypts letters so the letter spacing pattern will be identical to the plain text. You can therefore select an encrypted block of text and know it has a meaning. With brute force you could discover the exact shift (ie one shift will make a recognisable word).
 
*The key is constant throughout the text, so if you crack one word you crack the entire cipher text.
 
*With sufficient cipher text you could count the frequency of every letter used. The most frequent is likely to be the character for 'e', you can then calculate the shift.
 
  
==Alternative Substitution Cipher==
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[[Vernam Cipher]]
The caesar cipher is a very basic substitution cipher. A more secure method would be to generate a random alphabet (including a space) which could then be used with the standard alphabet to map from an existing character to the new character:
 
[[File:Subcipher.jpg]]
 

Latest revision as of 08:55, 23 August 2023

TRC Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fso4xTG2FMw

Definitions

Plain text - The data in human readable form.

Cipher - An encryption method or algorithm.

Key - The data used to encrypt or decrypt the plain text.

Cipher text - The encrypted data which can only be understood if decrypted.

Encryption Methods

Caesar / Substitution Cipher

Vernam Cipher