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Category Archives: frequency analysis
How All Things Advance and Progress
While it can be determined that the evolution of cryptography and cryptanalysis is a result of a high level of academic and scholarly progression, the ability to analyze codes and ciphers does not necessarily have to come from that level of scholarship. In fact, amateur cryptanalysts are fully capable of analyzing and deciphering codes without much […] Continue reading
Posted in amateur cryptanalyst, frequency analysis, inventions, Student Posts
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You Don’t Need to Be Trained to Be Professional
With sophisticated and detailed research on statistics, al-Kindī invented his system of cryptanalysis, later known as the frequency analysis. It’s not surprised that he was considered as the greatest scientist in the ninth century when many disciplines including mathematics, statistics and linguistics that are well developed today were still in their rudimentary stages; thus his […] Continue reading
Posted in amateur cryptography, cryptanalysis, frequency analysis, Student Posts
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Modern Cryptanalysis Geniuses?
In The Code Book, by Simon Singh, the discovery of cryptanalysis is discussed. It is explained that without a strong background in core disciplines, cryptanalysis is impossible to achieve. Mathematics, statistics, and linguistics are vital in the development of many methods, such as frequency analysis. Earlier civilizations lacked a certain amount of efficiency in these fields, […] Continue reading
Posted in cryptanalysis, frequency analysis, Student Posts, substitution cipher
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Easier to Learn, or Easier to Access?
I believe that, while a high level of scholarship was required to develop the frequency analysis approach, it is not critical to the use of this approach. When the world was new to this subject–when it had just discovered ciphers and keys and cryptanalysis–all of the knowledge was completely new. It was the cutting edge, […] Continue reading
Posted in amateur cryptography, civilization, frequency analysis, Singh, Student Posts
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A Developing Familiarity Throughout History
Fundamental development in the disciplinary topics of mathematics, statistics, and linguistics was procured from a comparative ground-level hundreds of years ago as opposed to what we have unearthed today. The advantages and resources currently available to the vast public are, of course, the most they have ever been in history. This goes without saying. “Discovering” […] Continue reading
Posted in cryptanalysis, frequency analysis, internet, Student Posts
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Cryptanalysis: From Complexity to Common Knowledge
Each an art form of its own, cryptanalysis and cryptography demonstrate opposing counterparts focused on accomplishing the same common goal—the understanding of a hidden message. These two techniques highlight the competitive battle between codemakers and codebreakers. Although cryptography requires a distinct level of skill and secrecy, the practice of cryptanalysis encounters even greater obstacles as […] Continue reading
Posted in amateur cryptography, frequency analysis, Student Posts, technology
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The Infinite Struggle Between Makers and Breakers
The continuous tug-of-war between cryptographers and cryptanalysts has triggered the expansion and prominence of cryptography in the world today. Just as quickly as new encryption methods are developed, new decryption strategies are implemented, creating a state of equilibrium in cryptography. The art of secret writing dates back to Herodotus (Singh 3) and has had various […] Continue reading
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Intuition
The part of Cryptonomicon that caught my attention was Lawrence Waterhouse’s attempt to solve the cipher, or “mathematical exercise” given to him and others by Commander Schoen. Schoen writes out the cipher, a list of 5 groups each with 5 … Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in Cryptonomicon, frequency analysis, Lawrence Waterhouse, Student Posts
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The Accessibility of Knowledge
In Simon Singh’s The Code Book, he states “Cryptanalysis could not be invented until a civilization has reached a sufficiently sophisticated level of scholarship.” If such a sophisticated level of scholarship was needed to invent cryptanalysis, and cryptanalysts were considered … Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in cryptanalysis, frequency analysis, society, Student Posts
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Cryptanalysis Evolving Over Time
In Simon Singh’s book, The Code Book, it is expressed that “Cryptanalysis could not be invented until a civilization had reached a sufficiently sophisticated level of scholarship in several disciplines, including mathematics, statistics, and linguistics.” I think this is a … Continue reading → Continue reading
Posted in cryptanalysis, frequency analysis, Student Posts, The Code Book
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