Bugs #02 31 декабря 1999

Cryptography - The story of ciphers.

(C) Lelik 2000



                      The appearance of ciphers.



A number of encryption systems has reached us from antiquity. 
More often they appeared simultaneously with the script in the 
4 millennium BC. Methods of secret correspondence were invented

independently in many ancient societies such as Egypt, Sumer
and China, but the detailed status of cryptology in them is 
unknown. Cryptogram seek out even in ancient times, though, due 
to used in the ancient world in the form of ideographic writing

stylized images were primitive. Sumerians, apparently
use cryptography. Archaeologists found clay
cuneiform tablets, where the first recording layer of gloss over
clay, which was made the second record. The origin of such
strange tables could be caused and cryptography, and disposal.
Because the number of ideographic signs letter was more
Thousands, then memorizing them is a difficult task -
here is not to encryption. Nevertheless, the codes that appear 
along with dictionaries, are well known in Babylon and Assyria, 
and ancient Egyptians used at least 3 encryption system. C

the development of phonetic writing script dramatically 
simplified. In the ancient Semitic alphabet in the 2 nd 
millennium BC, was only about 30 characters. They designated 
consonant sounds, as well as some vowels and syllables. 
Simplified stimulated the development of cryptography. Even in 
the Bible you can find examples shifrovok, although few people 
notice it. In the book of Jeremiah (25,26) we read: "... and 
the king Sessaha drink after them." Such the king or the 
kingdom was not - surely an error of the scribe? No, just 
Sometimes the sacred Jewish texts encrypted by simple 
replacement. Instead of the first letters of the alphabet was 
written last, instead of the second - Penultimate and so on. 
This ancient method of encryption called Atbashi. Reading to 
him the word of the session at the original language get the 
word Babylon, and the meaning of the biblical text can be 
adopted did not blindly believing in the truth of Scripture. 
Undoubtedly, that Prometheus who gave people the number of 
letters and appreciated, by the way tell them above the fire 
can be considered one of the first cryptology. But even 
Democritus believed: "... all art, no What else should not 
shoot or to Athena or to another god: all the arts are 
generated over time needs and circumstances. "That's why not 
cryptology could find a good habitat until the Roman Empire.

Thus, according to Herodotus in ancient Egypt, the role of the 
cipher usually played by priests specially crafted language. 
There are parallel there were three alphabets: writing, sacred 
and mysterious. The first of them display a common spoken 
language, the second could used for the presentation of 
religious texts, and the third used predictors or to conceal 
meaning. In Ancient Greece - the same soup, so pour thinner - 
existed tens of very distinct dialects. Diogenes Laertius so

explained one of the reasons for the extinction of philosophy 
pifagoriytsev: "... It was written in Dorian, as well as an 
adverb obscure, it seemed that doctrine, it set out, not

authentic and distorted ... "On the one hand, a significant 
development Cipher is unthinkable outside the big country with 
wide linguistic, trade and political links between its parts. 
On the other hand, the use of ciphers requires open

opposition to the interests of different groups of people 
simultaneously respect the individual and his rights to freedom 
as their own secrets, it is a democratic political system. When

tyranny and encryption, and plain text messages about the plot
equally deadly for senders and recipients. In
number of Greek city-states were subjected to cryptographers
whipping along with thieves, as did his profession
swindle and deceit. If the application of cosmetics women out 
there sometimes considered an attempt to fool the eye and 
distort the essence of things, then who would venture to become 
a cryptographer? Quite another thing, when the state is 
growing, begin to respect the rights of and freedoms of 
citizens, it does not actually have a united and strong power, 
when are wars of conquest and flourishing trade. Therefore, the 
situation changes in the heyday of Rome, which was originally 
represents only a small antique civilian communities, Further 
excessively expanded, subjecting himself to Italy first and 
then and all the Mediterranean. To control the governors in

numerous provinces encrypted communications for the Roman 
authorities power has become essential. Many people probably 
know substitution cipher associated with the name of Julius 
Caesar. That's about it Gaius Suetonius reports: "There are his 
letters to Cicero and letters to relatives about family 
affairs: in them, if needed tell something behind the scenes, 
he used cryptography, that is changed letters so that one did 
not develop a single word. To parse and read them, you need to 
read every time fourth letter in place of the first, for 
example, D instead of A and so further. "This means that each 
letter was replaced by encrypting fourth of it in the alphabet: 
A-B-C-D, or D instead of A. Message to the Senate VENI VIDI 
VICI, that is, COME SAW WON, Caesar made after day-long war 
with the king of Pontus Parnach would appear to encode SBKF 
SFAF SFZF. Why obrashschsya to such ancient history? Montaigne 
in his philosophical experiments says: "Ignorance is twofold: 
one, illiterate, precedes science; another uppity, following 
exists for her. "So no need to laugh at the simplicity and 
naivete first cipher - the pioneers of experiments is always 
awkward. However, it is not to laugh when, trying to protect 
his work, modern programmers reproduce the vices of Gaius 
Julius - this indicates of the deep gaps in our education. It 
is therefore surprising was acquainted with the said Caesar 
cipher in computer directories containing tens of thousands of 
addresses organizations and enterprises. When checking the 
resistance of the cipher autopsy several megabytes of collected 
bit by bit over the years information took less than an hour, 
and from buying guide had refuse. Judge: inexperienced users 
like accountants and financiers would think that they have 
inscribed Directory information is protected, while it is easy

available to any hacker (and author of Handbook). In fact,
Developer unreliable encryption systems is suspect
wickedness: that intentionally made only semblance of privacy to
have access to customer information. Attempts to explain
the need for strong encryption and sufficiently frequent change
keys were met at the firm referred to manufacturers' directory
with naive simplicity: "If you want a different password from 
the ours, you name it and we in the week put his

a fee. "fundamentally different cipher, more ancient, is 
associated with a permutation of the letters the message to a 
specific known sender and receiver rule. The ancients told: some

cunning of the Spartans found that if you strip pergaenta
spiral wound on a stick and write on it along the rod
text message, then, after removing the strip of letters on it
be located randomly. This is the same, if not write letters
row, and after determined number of the ring before until
full text will not be exhausted. Message to make when
coli in the circle 3 letters will VUTYPESATY encryption. The 
text of her is not clear, is not it? To read the encryption is 
necessary not only know the system of classification, but also 
have a key in the form of Sticks adopted diameter. Knowing the 
type of cipher, but with no key decrypt the message was 
difficult. This cipher was called wandering under the name of 
the bar, which wound papyrus scrolls, which indicates its 
origin. He was very popular in Sparta and many times was 
improved in later times. About him importance and widespread 
evidence says Plutarch in "Comparative biographies, when the 
historian tells about the life of the Greek military leader 
Alcibiades: "However, Lysander drew attention to these words 
not before received from home skitalu with orders to get rid of 
... Alcibiades' recall, that the Greek writer and historian 
Polybius invented two centuries before AD, the so-called 
polibiansky square of 5x5, filled with the alphabet in random 
order. For encryption square are letters of the text and 
inserted into the bottom of the encryption her in the same 
column. If the letter was the bottom line, it took the top of 
the same column. This kind of squares is widely were used in 
the latest cryptographic systems and will are detailed below. 
Devices for encryption also existed since ancient times. 
Sparta, the most warlike of the Greek States that have 
well-developed system of secret military relationships are in 
the V century BC. With the help of wandering, the first known 
cryptographic device, the Spartan Eforie (Eforie - members of 
the collective government of Sparta.) Encrypt messages, using 
the method of simple permutations. Lazy, and because 
yubretatelnye Romans in the IV century BC, to simplify 
procedure of encryption, encrypt the drives are used. Each of 
the 2 disks, placed on a common axis, contained on the rim of 
the alphabet in random sequence. Finding on the same drive 
letter of the text, with another disc were read the 
corresponding letter of the cipher. Such Devices that generate 
a simple code change. used up before the Renaissance. To 
contact the Greeks and Romans used the code based polibianskogo 
square filled with natural alphabet. The letter was encoded row 
and column corresponding to it in the square. Signal was 
applied at night with torches, a flag day. On the basis of such 
a code is easy to make a cipher denoting each row and column 
number of its flags. Very likely that such codes are applied, 
but the historical evidence of this. He graduated from the 
consideration of ancient ciphers, because a small number of 
these examples contains all variety of classical approaches to 
encryption, just if in the tiniest drop of water affects the 
whole world. 



                                Becoming a science of cryptology


                               We have the truth, like a lie

                               Should keep serried mouth

                               Otherwise, shame innocent 
nazhivesh ... 


                               Dante. "Divine Comedy"



 P.S. Useful information was taken from the side, but with a

      I will not say because I do not know.