[Cryptology] [The Cryptology Independent Study Project] The Codebreakers: Project 6.0

[The Cryptology Independent Study Project]

http://cryptology.dod.net/index.php?/archives/16-The-Codebreakers-Project-6.0.html

Read chapter six, “The Contribution of the Dilettantes.”  Of interest is the wheel cipher description on pages 193-194, and Wheatstone’s cipher machine.  Pay close attention to pages 198-202 for the Playfair cipher system.  You can find the text for this passage here, since it is used for the independent study on Bruce Schneier's book Applied Cryptography.  Also read about the checkerboard system on page 203-204.  And most importantly pay VERY CLOSE attention to the Kasiski method of cryptanalysis on polyalphabetic ciphers (pp. 208-213).  Understanding this break is a key progression in cryptanalysis, so make sure to do a close reading.  Takes about 1 hour to read.

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