I'm reading a book about them called (appropriately) The Code Book. It's by Simon Singh and it's actually a really awesome book, because it tells all these stories about ciphers affecting events in the world.
So what's to discuss? How about: Have you ever invented your own cipher? Do you know anything about them? Or how to break them?
I can break any monoalphabetic cipher and most polyalphabetic ciphers (only if they have a keyword or key phrase and hopefully use the Vignenere cipher). I'm working on developing a cipher that's not only unbreakable, but practical, because the cipher of the onetime pad is unbreakable, but completely impractical....yeah.
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echs wrote:
I am actually a master of steganography, so I don't need ciphers.
Um...the word ciphers is in the very definition...
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While onetime pads are impractical, they are the only strictly unbreakable cipher. Of course, modern ciphers, using asymmetric key cryptography techniques are virtually breakable. If all the observable matter in the universe were part of a supercomputer, it would still take an uncountable number of years for them to break these ciphers.
The problem that people face when attempting to securely transmit data does not lie in the codes, but in the methods used to securely transmit keys.
To gain a better understanding of codes, I would, however, recommend you make your own cipher, which can be a very rewarding experience.
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demosthenes wrote:
While onetime pads are impractical, they are the only strictly unbreakable cipher. Of course, modern ciphers, using asymmetric key cryptography techniques are virtually breakable. If all the observable matter in the universe were part of a supercomputer, it would still take an uncountable number of years for them to break these ciphers.
The problem that people face when attempting to securely transmit data does not lie in the codes, but in the methods used to securely transmit keys.
To gain a better understanding of codes, I would, however, recommend you make your own cipher, which can be a very rewarding experience.
It is a lot of fun to make ciphers. The book I'm reading is awesome, if you haven't read it, you might like it.
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