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Encryption

The Vigenère cipher is a polyalphabetic substitution cipher developed in the 16th century that enhances earlier ciphers by using a repeating keyword for encryption. It offers advantages such as increased security through multiple cipher alphabets and resistance to frequency analysis, but it is still vulnerable to techniques like the Kasiski examination and known-plaintext attacks. Key management and the length of the keyword are crucial for maintaining the cipher's security.

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3 views

Encryption

The Vigenère cipher is a polyalphabetic substitution cipher developed in the 16th century that enhances earlier ciphers by using a repeating keyword for encryption. It offers advantages such as increased security through multiple cipher alphabets and resistance to frequency analysis, but it is still vulnerable to techniques like the Kasiski examination and known-plaintext attacks. Key management and the length of the keyword are crucial for maintaining the cipher's security.

Uploaded by

M K Khaing
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Vigenere Cipher

The Vigenère cipher is a polyalphabetic substitution cipher that was developed in the
16th century by a French cryptographer named Blaise de Vigenère.

Blaise de Vigenère enhanced the earlier Alberti cipher, invented by Leon Battista
Alberti in the 15th century. The Alberti cipher used a single mixed alphabet and a
“Cipher Disk” device for encryption and decryption.

Vigenère’s improvement introduced the use of a repeating keyword or phrase to


determine shifts, making it a more secure polyalphabetic cipher compared to
monoalphabetic ciphers like the Caesar cipher.
Encrypting using the Vignere Cipher
1.Choose a secret keyword or phrase (e.g., “SECRET”).
2.Write down the message you want to encrypt (e.g., “HELLO WORLD”).
3.Convert the keyword and message to uppercase and remove any spaces or special
characters.
4.Using the Vigenere table(one the right) Find the row corresponding to the first letter of the
keyword and the column corresponding to the first letter of the message. The intersection of
the row and column represents the encrypted letter.
(The message first letter H with the first keyword letter S encrypts to B.)
5.Repeat step 5 for each letter in the message using the next letter in the keyword.

Keyword: S E C R E T S E C R E T
Message: H E L L O W O R L D
Encrypted: Z I N C S P G V J U
Decrypting is exactly the same method as encrypting, except in reverse.
1.Start with the encrypted message (e.g., “Z I N C S P G V J U”).
2.Write down the keyword used for encryption.
3.Find the row corresponding to the first letter of the keyword and the column
corresponding to the first letter of the encrypted message. The intersection of the row
and column represents the decrypted letter.
4.The first encrypted letter B, with the first keyword letter S decrypts to H
5.Repeat for each letter
Example:
Keyword: MORSE
Encrypted: IVR LLM GXG HIF RMK TH
Decrypted: WHAT HAS GOD WRAUGHT
Advantages
Polyalphabetic Encryption
The Vigenère cipher uses multiple cipher alphabets, making it more secure than
simple substitution ciphers. Each letter in the plaintext can have multiple
corresponding ciphertext letters, adding complexity to the encryption.
Key Management
The Vigenère cipher relies on a keyword or phrase as the encryption key. This key can
be easily changed for different messages, providing flexibility in encryption. The key
length and complexity can enhance the security of the cipher.
Resistance to Frequency Analysis
Unlike monoalphabetic ciphers, such as the Caesar cipher, the Vigenère cipher does
not preserve the frequency distribution of letters in the plaintext. This makes it more
resistant to frequency analysis, a common method of breaking simple substitution
ciphers.
Vulnerable to Frequency Analysis
The Vigenère cipher is susceptible to the Kasiski examination, which is a technique
used to analyze repeated patterns in the ciphertext. Repeated sequences can reveal
information about the keyword length and eventually lead to decryption.
Key Length Consideration
The security of the Vigenère cipher depends on the length and randomness of the
keyword. If the keyword is short or easily guessable, the cipher becomes weaker. Long
and random keywords are harder to remember and manage.
Known-plaintext Attacks
If an attacker knows or can guess parts of the plaintext and the corresponding
ciphertext, they can deduce information about the keyword. This knowledge can aid in
breaking the cipher.

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