Code and ciphers: Julius Caesar, the Enigma and the internet
Code and ciphers: Julius Caesar, the Enigma and the internet
Code and ciphers: Julius Caesar, the Enigma and the internet
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46<br />
chapter 4<br />
<strong>and</strong><br />
1 <strong>and</strong> 2 are 9 places apart<br />
2 <strong>and</strong> 3 are 2 places apart<br />
3 <strong>and</strong> 4 are 17 places apart<br />
4 <strong>and</strong> 5 are 25 places apart<br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> digraph attack that was used before will no longer work.<br />
The security of <strong>the</strong> double transposition cipher would be fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />
increased if we used two different keywords ra<strong>the</strong>r than using <strong>the</strong> same one<br />
twice, particularly if <strong>the</strong> keywords were of different lengths. In such a<br />
system, however, <strong>the</strong>re is <strong>the</strong> increased risk that <strong>the</strong> sender will make a<br />
mistake by using <strong>the</strong> two keywords in <strong>the</strong> wrong order. This will, in<br />
general, produce a different cipher text which <strong>the</strong> receiver won’t be able<br />
to decipher <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> message will have to be sent again in its correct form.<br />
This would provide <strong>the</strong> cryptanalyst with two versions of <strong>the</strong> same text,<br />
enciphered with <strong>the</strong> same keys, but in opposite orders; a situation he may<br />
be able to exploit. This type of error is a hazard of any system involving<br />
double encryption. Some <strong>Enigma</strong> messages were enciphered twice, on<br />
different settings, for extra security <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>re was at least one occasion<br />
when <strong>the</strong> encipherments were carried out in <strong>the</strong> wrong order [4.1].<br />
Example 4.2<br />
Apply <strong>the</strong> double transposition method to <strong>the</strong> text<br />
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O<br />
using <strong>the</strong> two keys<br />
3-1-5-2-4 <strong>and</strong> 3-1-2<br />
(i) in <strong>the</strong> order given, (ii) in <strong>the</strong> opposite order. Hence verify that <strong>the</strong> two<br />
cipher texts are different.<br />
Verification<br />
(i) We apply 3-1-5-2-4 (see Table 4.6),<br />
Table 4.6<br />
3 1 5 2 4<br />
A B C D E<br />
F G H I J<br />
K L M N O