Classical Encryption Techniques

SUBSTITUTION TECHNIQUES
Key
 Exercise 1 - Caesar cipher
• Decrypt the following message using Caesar
cipher
 Polygraphic Substitution Ciphers
• Encrypts letters in groups
• Frequency analysis more difficult
 Hill Cipher
• Developed by the mathematician Lester Hill in 1929
• Strength is that it completely hides single-letter
frequencies
– The use of a larger matrix hides more frequency information
– A 3 x 3 Hill cipher hides not only single-letter but also two-letter
frequency information
• Strong against a ciphertext-only attack but easily broken
with a known plaintext attack
• Example:
 Hill Ciphers
• Polygraphic substitution cipher
• Uses matrices to encrypt and decrypt
• Uses modular arithmetic (Mod 26)
 Modular Arithmetic
• For a Mod b, divide a by b and take the
remainder.
• 14 ÷ 10 = 1 R 4
• 14 Mod 10 = 4
• 24 Mod 10 = 4
Modulus Theorem
Modulus Examples
 Modular Inverses
• Inverse of 2 is ½ (2 · ½ = 1)
• Matrix Inverse: AA-1= I
• Modular Inverse for Mod m: (a · a-1) Mod m =
1
• For Modular Inverses, a and m must NOT have
any prime factors in common
Modular Inverses of Mod 26
A 1 2 5 7 9 11 15 17 19 21 23 25
A-1 1 9 21 15 3 19 7 23 11 5 17 25

Example – Find the Modular Inverse of 9 for Mod 26

9 · 3 = 27

27 Mod 26 = 1

3 is the Modular Inverse of 9 Mod 26

 Hill Cipher Matrices
• One matrix to encrypt, one to decrypt
• Must be n x n, invertible matrices
• Decryption matrix must be modular inverse of
encryption matrix in Mod 26
 Modularly Inverse Matrices
• Calculate determinant of first matrix A, det A
• Make sure that det A has a modular inverse
for Mod 26
• Calculate the adjugate of A, adj A
• Multiply adj A by modular inverse of det A
• Calculate Mod 26 of the result to get B
• Use A to encrypt, B to decrypt
Modular Reciprocal Example
 Encryption
• Assign each letter in alphabet a number
between 0 and 25
• Change message into 2 x 1 letter vectors
• Change each vector into 2 x 1 numeric vectors
• Multiply each numeric vector by encryption
matrix
• Convert product vectors to letters
Letter to Number Substitution
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
 Change Message to Vectors
Message to encrypt = HELLOWORLD
Multiply Matrix by Vectors
Convert to Mod 26
Convert Numbers to Letters

HELLOWORLD has been encrypted to

SLHZYATGZT
 Decryption
• Change message into 2 x 1 letter vectors
• Change each vector into 2 x 1 numeric vectors
• Multiply each numeric vector by decryption
matrix
• Convert new vectors to letters
 Change Message to Vectors
Message to decrypt = SLHZYATGZT
Multiply Matrix by Vectors
Convert to Mod 26
Convert Numbers to Letters

SLHZYATGZT has been decrypted to

HELLO WORLD
 Summary – Hill Ciphers
• Creating valid encryption/decryption matrices
is the most difficult part of Hill Ciphers.
• Otherwise, Hill Ciphers use simple linear
algebra and modular arithmetic
 Vernam Cipher
• The ultimate defense against such a cryptanalysis is to choose a
keyword that is as long as the plaintext and has no statistical
relationship to it.

• Such a system was introduced by an AT&T engineer named Gilbert

Vernam in 1918. His system works on binary data (bits) rather than
letters.

• The essence of this technique is the means of construction of the key.

Vernam proposed the use of a running loop of tape that eventually
repeated the key, so that in fact the system worked with a very long but
repeating keyword.

• Although such a scheme, with a long key, presents formidable

cryptanalytic difficulties, it can be broken with sufficient ciphertext, the
use of known or probable plaintext sequences, or both.
Vernam Cipher