Cipher - Overview

By Samson Matthew
We’ll look at:
➔ Introduction
➔ Types of Cipher

➔ Modern Encryptions
Introduction
A cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or
decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a
procedure.

Ciphertext is encrypted text transformed from plaintext using an

encryption algorithm. Ciphertext can't be read until it has been
converted into plaintext (decrypted) with a key. The decryption cipher
is an algorithm that transforms the ciphertext back into plaintext.

The term cipher is sometimes used as a synonym for ciphertext.

However, it refers to the method of encryption rather than the result.
Ciphertext example
The Caesar cipher is a substitution cipher in which each letter in
the plaintext is "shifted" a certain number of places down the
alphabet. For example, with a shift of 1, A would be B, B would
be replaced by C, etc. The method is named after Julius Caesar,
who is said to have used it to communicate with his generals.
Tip
Here is an example of the encryption and decryption steps
The Imitation Game
involved with the Caesar cipher. The text to be encrypted is
Alan Turing, a British
"defend the east wall of the castle," with a shift (key) of 1. mathematician, joins the
cryptography team to
decipher the German enigma
● Plaintext: defend the east wall of the castle code. With the help of his
fellow mathematicians, he
● Ciphertext: efgfoe uif fbtu xbmm pg uif dbtumf builds a machine to crack the
codes.
Types of Cipher
Substitution Ciphers Transposition Ciphers Polygraphics Ciphers

Permutation Ciphers Private-Key Ciphers Public-Key Ciphers

Quotes for illustration purposes only

Substitution Ciphers
Replace bits, characters, or character blocks in plaintext with alternate bits, characters or character blocks to
produce ciphertext. A substitution cipher may be monoalphabetic or polyalphabetic:

● A single alphabet is used to encrypt the entire plaintext message. For example, if the letter A is
enciphered as the letter K, this will be the same for the entire message.
● A more complex substitution using a mixed alphabet to encrypt each bit, character or character block of
a plaintext message. For instance, the letter A may be encoded as the letter K for part of the message,
but later it might be encoded as the letter W
Transposition ciphers
Unlike substitution ciphers that replace letters with other letters, transposition ciphers keep the letters the
same, but rearrange their order according to a specific algorithm. For instance, in a simple columnar
transposition cipher, a message might be read horizontally but would be written vertically to produce the
ciphertext.
Polygraphic ciphers
Substituting one letter for another letter, a polygraphic cipher performs substitutions with two or
more groups of letters. This masks the frequency distribution of letters, making frequency analysis
attacks much more difficult.
Eg: Playfair Cipher
Permutation ciphers
In this cipher, the positions held by plaintext are shifted to a regular system so that the ciphertext
constitutes a permutation of the plaintext.
Modern Encryptions
Modern encryption methods can be divided by two criteria: by type of key used,
and by type of input data.

By type of key used ciphers are divided into:

● symmetric key algorithms (Private-key cryptography), where one same
key is used for encryption and decryption, and
● asymmetric key algorithms (Public-key cryptography), where two different
keys are used for encryption and decryption.
Symmetric key algorithm (Private-key cryptography)
In a symmetric key algorithm (e.g., DES and AES), the sender and receiver must
have a shared key set up in advance and kept secret from all other parties; the
sender uses this key for encryption, and the receiver uses the same key for
decryption. The Feistel cipher uses a combination of substitution and
transposition techniques. Most block cipher algorithms are based on this
structure.
Asymmetric key algorithm (Public-key cryptography)
In an asymmetric key algorithm (e.g., RSA), there are two separate keys: a public
key is published and enables any sender to perform encryption, while a private
key is kept secret by the receiver and enables only that person to perform
correct decryption.
Block Cipher and Stream Cipher
Ciphers can be distinguished into two types by the type of input data:
● block ciphers, which encrypt block of data of fixed size, and
● stream ciphers, which encrypt continuous streams of data.
Thank You