Codes, Ciphers, & Codebreaking

v2.2.3 / TOC (13 chapters) / 01 jan 07 / greg goebel / public domain

* Codes, ciphers, and codebreaking have been around for millennia, with the survival of nations sometimes hanging on the security of codes and ciphers. With modern computer networking, they have become important in day-to-day life. This document provides a technical and historical introduction to codes, ciphers, and codebreaking.

Those who prefer a less detailed treatment of the subject may be interested in the brief A Codes & Ciphers Primer document.

[1.0] Introduction To Codes, Ciphers, & Codebreaking

• [1.1] BASIC CONCEPTS
  
• [1.2] SIMPLE SUBSTITUTION CIPHERS
  
• [1.3] SIMPLE TRANSPOSITIONS
  
• [1.4] FREQUENCY ANALYSIS AGAINST CIPHERS
  
• [1.5] CRACKING CODES / CODES VERSUS CIPHERS
  

[2.0] Refining The Art

• [2.1] CRYPTANALYSIS ARISES IN THE WEST
  
• [2.2] POLYALPHABETIC SUBSTITUTION CIPHERS / THE VIGENERE CIPHER
  
• [2.3] OTHER CIPHER REFINEMENTS
  
• [2.4] CIPHERS GO PUBLIC
  

[3.0] The Rise Of Field Ciphers

• [3.1] TELEGRAPHY & CRYPTOLOGY
  
• [3.2] CRACKING THE VIGENERE CIPHER
  
• [3.3] THE UNION ROUTE CIPHER / MULTIPLE ANAGRAMMING
  
• [3.4] POLYBIUS, BIFID, PLAYFAIR, & STRADDLING CHECKERBOARD CIPHERS
  
• [3.5] GRILLES & TURNING GRILLES
  

[4.0] Codes & Codebreakers In World War I

• [4.1] ROOM 40 & THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM / GERMAN CODEBREAKERS
  
• [4.2] TRENCH CODES
  
• [4.3] GEORGES PAINVIN & THE ADFGX / ADFGVX CIPHERS
  
• [4.4] JOSEPH MAUBORGNE & THE ONE-TIME PAD CIPHER
  

[5.0] The Mechanization of Ciphers

• [5.1] CIPHER DISKS
  
• [5.2] THE BAZERIES CYLINDER
  
• [5.3] SCHERBIUS & THE ENIGMA
  
• [5.4] TELEPHONE SCRAMBLERS / SIGSALY
  

[6.0] US Codebreakers In The Shadow Of War

• [6.1] HERBERT O. YARDLEY & THE ORIGINS OF AMERICAN CRYPTANALYSIS
  
• [6.2] WILLIAM O. FRIEDMAN & THE ARMY SECRET INTELLIGENCE SERVICE
  
• [6.3] SIS CRACKS RED & PURPLE / CORAL & JADE
  
• [6.4] THE US NAVY & OP-20-G / PEARL HARBOR
  

[7.0] US Codebreakers In World War II

• [7.1] THE JAPANESE JN-25 CODE
  
• [7.2] CRACKING JN-25
  
• [7.3] THE SIS IN WORLD WAR II
  
• [7.4] THE US ECM MARK II CIPHER MACHINE
  
• [7.5] THE NAVAHO CODE-TALKERS
  
• [7.6] VENONA
  
• [7.7] ORIGINS OF THE NSA
  

[8.0] British Codebreakers In World War II

• [8.1] THE POLES CRACK ENIGMA
  
• [8.2] BLETCHLEY PARK & ULTRA
  
• [8.3] BLETCHLEY PARK AGAINST ENIGMA
  
• [8.4] BLETCHLEY PARK CRACKS NAVAL ENIGMA
  
• [8.5] WINTERBOTHAM PUBLISHES THE ULTRA SECRET
  

[9.0] Lorenz & Colossus

• [9.1] TELECIPHER SYSTEMS
  
• [9.2] THE LORENZ SX-40/42 TELECIPHER MACHINES
  
• [9.3] HEATH ROBINSON & COLOSSUS
  
• [9.4] FOOTNOTE -- BORIS HAGELIN & THE M-209
  

[10.0] Digital Ciphers & Public-Key Cryptography

• [10.1] THE KW-26 / STREAM CIPHERS, BLOCK CIPHERS, & DES
  
• [10.2] DIFFIE, HELLMAN, MERKLE, & THE KEY DISTRIBUTION PROBLEM
  
• [10.3] HELLMAN SOLVES THE KEY-EXCHANGE PROBLEM
  
• [10.4] DIFFIE "INVENTS" PUBLIC-KEY CRYPTOGRAPHY
  
• [10.5] RSA
  
• [10.6] GCHQ & THE SHADOW HISTORY OF PUBLIC-KEY CRYPTOGRAPHY
  

[11.0] Contemporary Cryptology

• [11.1] MESSAGE AUTHENTICATION & DIGITAL SIGNATURES
  
• [11.2] PHIL ZIMMERMANN AND PGP
  
• [11.3] INTERNET CRYPTOGRAPHY: SSL & IPSEC
  
• [11.4] GNUPG / ELLIPTIC-CURVE CIPHERS / AES
  
• [11.5] DIGITAL STEGANOGRAPHY
  
• [11.6] FOOTNOTE: RKE SYSTEMS
  

[12.0] Frontiers In Cryptology

• [12.1] THE POLITICS OF CIPHERS
  
• [12.2] QUANTUM COMPUTING & CODEBREAKING
  
• [12.3] QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY
  

[13.0] The Cryptological Fringe

• [13.1] BIBLE CODES & THEIR KIN
  
• [13.2] THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT
  
• [13.3] COMMENTS, SOURCES, & REVISION HISTORY