UNIT 11 – Introduction to Cryptography: Secrets, Secrets

There has been a need for security in the transfer and storage of information from the very
beginning of human writing. The use of codes and ciphers to change plaintext into coded
text, cryptography ( from Greek κρψπτος "hidden" + γραφήν "to write") has been around
at least since 1090BC in non-standard hieroglyphs from the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Clay
tablets from Mesopotamia (1500BC) and ancient Hebrew texts (500bc) show evidence of
cryptography to protect information.

The ancient Greeks are said to have known of ciphers.

The scytale transposition cipher was used by the
Spartan military. Herodotus speaks of ciphers hidden
under wax on tablets.

One of the earliest ciphers used for military purposes is

the Caesar cipher (and its variations). It was used to
transmit messages to generals in the field, as well as
send secret government communications. It was a very
simple cipher process.

The letters in the plaintext were shifted either right or left a certain number of positions. For
example, if the cipher shift were two, then A would become C, B would become D, C would
become E, etc.

The plaintext: MANE ADGREDIENTIBUS (We attack at dawn)

would be written: OCPGCFITGFPVLDXU

But how did the receiver know to shift right or left? By the addition of two letters at the
beginning or end – D for dextrum (to the right) or S for sinsitrum (to the left), plus another
letter to indicate how many (A=1, B=2, C=3, etc.)

DBOCPGCFITGFPVLDXU

the receiver knows the key to the code.

Modern cryptology originated among the Arabs, who were the first to
systematically document cryptanalytic methods. Al-Kindi, an Arab
mathematician, invented the first frequency-analysis technique for
breaking single-letter substitution ciphers around 800AD. This proved to
be the single most significant cryptanalytic advance until the Second
World War (1939-1945).

The earliest example of the homophonic substitution

cipher is the one used by the Duke of Mantua in the early 1400s.
Homophonic cipher replaces each letter with multiple symbols
depending on the letter frequency. The cipher was ahead of its time
because it combines monoalphabetic and polyalphabetic
techniques.

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UNIT 11 – Introduction to Cryptography: Secrets, Secrets

Even though cryptography has a long and complex history, it wasn't

until the 1800s that it developed anything more than ad hoc
approaches to either encryption or cryptanalysis (the science of
finding weaknesses in crypto systems). An example of the latter
includes Charles Babbage's work on mathematical cryptanalysis of
polyalphabetic ciphers,

Cryptography development accelerated during World War I (1914-

1918) and World War II (1939-1945). Most notably, in WWII, the
Germans broke the British naval code and were able to intercept
Atlantic convoys until the British High Command was persuaded to
change the code in 1943. American, British (led by Alan Turing), and
Polish cryptanalysts were able to break the German Enigma Code and
the Japanese Naval Code, which greatly helped the Allies win the war.

After the WWII and until the 1970s, secure cryptography was largely the domain of
governments. Two events brought it squarely into the public domain:
• the creation of a public encryption standard (DES), and
• the invention of public-key cryptography.

The Data Encryption Standard (DES) is a symmetric-key algorithm for the encryption of
electronic data. Although it is not secure, it greatly influenced in the advancement of
modern cryptography.

It was developed in the early 1970s at IBM based on an earlier

design by Horst Feistel, the algorithm was submitted to the
National Bureau of Standards (NBS) following the invitation to
a solution for the protection of sensitive, unclassified electronic
government data. In 1976, after consultation with the National
Security Agency (NSA), the NBS selected a modified version
which was published as an official Federal Information
Processing Standard (FIPS) for the United States in 1977.

The publication of an NSA-approved encryption standard

resulted in its quick international adoption and widespread
academic scrutiny.

About 1990, the use of the Internet for commercial purposes and the introduction of
commercial transactions over the Internet prompted the need for a widespread standard
for encryption. Before the introduction of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES),
information sent over the Internet was encrypted if at all usually using the DES. DES was
finally replaced by the AES after another public competition. In the late 1990s to early
2000s, the use of public-key algorithms became the common approach for encryption.

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In 1976, Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman introduced a very new method of distributing
cryptographic keys with the paper New Directions in Cryptography. It helped solve one of
the fundamental problems of cryptography – key distribution – and is now known as the
Diffie–Hellman key exchange. The article also promoted the public development of a new
class of enciphering algorithms – the asymmetric key algorithm, which uses a pair of
mathematically related keys, each of which decrypts the encryption performed using the
other.

A hybrid of the two schemes became the most accepted way for e-commerce
transactions. The creation of a new protocol known as the Secure Socket Layer, or SSL,
led the way for online transactions to take place. As wireless Internet connections became
more common, the need for encryption grew, as a level of security was needed in these
everyday situations.

While modern ciphers like AES and the higher quality asymmetric ciphers are widely
considered unbreakable, poor designs and implementations are still adopted and there
have been important cryptanalytic cracking of deployed crypto-systems in recent years.
These include the first Wi-Fi encryption scheme WEP (Wireless Equivalent Privacy)
which uses a 40-bit key, the CSS (Content Scrambling System) used for encrypting and
controlling DVD use, the A5/1 and A5/2 ciphers used in GSM (Global System for Mobile
Communications) cell phones, and the CRYPTO1 cipher used in the widely deployed
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). Of all of these symmetric ciphers, none has been
proven to be 'unbreakable'.

SOURCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_cryptography

Hall et al. “CS1300: Introduction to Computing”. Textbook, St. Mary’s University Computer
Science Press (2010), San Antonio, Texas.

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VOCABULARY
TECHNICAL
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) -
розширений стандарт шифрування /
расширенный стандарт шифрования
asymmetric key algorithm - асиметричний
алгоритм ключа; ассиметричный алгоритм
ключа
cipher (n) - шифр
cryptanalytic (adj) – криптоаналітичний
cryptanalysis (n) – криптоаналіз
cryptography (n) – криптографія
cryptology (n) – криптологія
CSS (Content Scrambling System) –
(система скремблювання вмісту /змісту);
система захисту від копіювання; система
защиты от копирования
DES (Data Encryption Standard) -
стандарт шифрування даних; стандарт
шифрования данных
homophonic (adj) - гомофонічний
monoalphabetic (adj) – моноалфавічний
polyalphabetic (adj) – багатоалфавічний
public-key algorithm - алгоритм відкритого
ключа
RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) -
ідентифікація радіочастот
SSL (Secure Socket Layer) - захищений
сокетовий шар; уровень защищённых
сокетов ; уровень защищённых гнёзд
symmetric key algorithm - алгоритм
симетричного ключа; алгоритм с
симметричным ключом
WEP (Wireless Equivalent Privacy) -
конфіденційність бездротового
еквівалента; встроенный эквивалент
секретности
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NON-TECHNICAL
ad hoc (adj) - спеціальний ; специально
подобранный
consultation (n) - консультація;
согласование
convoy (n) – конвой; сопровождение
evidence (n) – свідчення; основание;
характерные симптомы
hieroglyph (n) - ієрогліф; иероглиф
hybrid (n, adj) - гібрид; гибрид
indicate (v) - вказувати \указывать
intercept (v) - перехопити; перехватить
persuade (v) - переконувати; убеждать
prompt (n, v) – підказувати; подсказать
scheme (n) - схема; схема
scrutiny (n) – перевірка; внимательное
изучение
shift (v, n) – змінювати, зміна;
перемещать, перемещение
significant (adj) - значний;
существенный
submit (v) - подати; инициализировать
выполнение
substitution (n) - заміна; замена
systematically (adv) - систематично;
систематически
transaction (n) – транзакція; транзакция
transfer (v) - передача; перемещение
transposition (n) – транспозиція;
перенесення; перестановка
widespread (adj) - широко поширений;
распространённый
UNIT 11 – Introduction to Cryptography: Secrets, Secrets

ACTIVITIES:

1. Develop your own scytale code and send a message to Dr. Hall.

2. Develop your own Caesar code and sent a message to Dr. Hall.

3. Research one of the persons mentioned in the Unit and report to the class.

4. Research one of the encryption methods mentioned in the Unit and report to the
class.

5. Explain the importance of encryption in military and non-military

communications.

Vocabulary exercises

Exercise 1. Match the word/phrase with its definition

1) Encryption a) the state of being alone, or the right to keep one’s

personal matters and relationships secret
2) Cipher b) one or more reasons for believing that something is or is not true
3) Scramble c) to use special equipment to mix messages, radio signals etc into a
different form, so that they cannot be understood by other
people without correct equipment
4) Frequency d) the practice of creating and understanding codes that
keep information secret
5) Socket e) the careful and detailed examination of something in order to
get information about it
6) Layer f) a plan for doing or organizing something
7) Equivalent g) existing or happening in many places or among many people
8) Privacy h) not needing wires to make a connection or to communicate
9) Wireless i) equal to or having the same effect as something else
10)Cryptography j) a system of writing that prevents most
people from understanding the message
11) Widespread k) a level of material, such as a type of rock or gas, that is different
from the material above or below it, or a thin sheet of
a substance
12) Scrutiny l) a hollow or curved part into which something fits
13) Evidence m) the process of protecting information by putting it into a special
code that people cannot understand or use
on normal equipment
14) Scheme n) the number of times that a wave is produced within
a particular period, esp. within one second

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Exercise 2. Fill in the blanks with the words/phrases from the Unit.

advanced cryptanalysis identification substitution persuade

prompt intercept ad hoc

1) Unfortunately, we deal with problems ______________.

2) They have been ____________ mail to the biggest financial organizations.
3) What _____________ you to act that way?
4) To ______________ somebody means to cause people to do
or believe something, esp. by explaining why they should
5) Telecommuting is not a _____________ for child care.
6) We were asked to show some ______________ before the security
guards would let us in.
7) Signals intelligence applies ___________ and frequency analysis to break
codes and ciphers.
8) This is the most _____________ type of engine available.

Exercise 3. What does the abbreviation/acronym stand for?

1) AES
2) CSS
3) DES
4) RFID
5) SSL
6) WEP
7) NBS

Exercise 4. Use these prompts while preparing to present your answer to the
class.

1. First and foremost, …

2. What is more, …
3. Another factor to consider is …
4. Last but not least, …
5. In terms of (noun/gerund), …
6. Consequently, …
7. All things considered, …
8. My own view on the matter is …
9. … any questions?

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Supplementary activities

Grammar

Exercise 5. Focus on Nouns. Look at the table and continue filling it in with
your own examples.

Abstract Concrete Proper Collective Common

Science, Scientist, Ivan, Team, Man,
Belief Believer Ukrainian Group Cat

Exercise 6. The Plural of Nouns. Look at the table and continue filling it in with
your own examples. Nouns are made plural by different ways:

-s -es after: -s, Exceptions Can -ies -ves Exceptions Irregular

-ss, -x, -ch, after –o take
sh, -z, -o either s/-
es
Desks, Torches, Studios, Zeroes/ Candies, Halves, Beliefs, Datum –
Boards, Brushes, zeros, Data,
Tomatoes, Basis –
Boxes, bases,
Buzzes, Spacecraft,

Exercise 7. Compound nouns. Look at the table and continue filling it in with
your own examples.

Two nouns Adjective Noun Noun-preposition/- No, actually, nouns

noun
Text books, New passwords, Passers-by, Letdowns,
Computer chips,

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Exercise 8. Countable – Uncountable Nouns. Look at the table and continue

filling it in with your own examples.

Countable Uncountable Countable or Uncountable but with a difference

in meaning
Language, Knowledge, Paper – Papers, custom – customs,

Exercise 9. There are certain prefixes and suffixes which are used to form
new words, however, there are no exact rules to follow to form one word
from another.

Look at the tables and continue filling it in with your own examples.
Prefixes and their Examples
meaning
Anti- = against Antivirus software,
Bi- = two Bilingual,
Co- = with Collaboration,
De- = acting against Debug,
Ex- = before Ex-president,
Inter- = between International,
Mono- = one Monolingual,
Non- = not Non-stop,
Over- = too much Overdone,
Post- = after Postgraduate,
Pre- = before Pre-pay,
Pro- = in favor of Pro-western,
Re- = again Rewrite,
Semi- = half Semicircle,
Sub- = under Subway,
Super- = above Supercomputer,
Trans- = across Transatlantic,
Tri- three Triangle,
Under- = not enough Underpaid,
Uni- = one Unicorn,

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There are certain prefixes that mean not or show an opposite state or
process.
Un- Unbelievable,
Im- Impossible,
Mal- Malware,
Ir- Irregular,
Il- Illegal,
In- Incompetent,
Dis- Disagree,
Mis- Misunderstand,

Suffixes
-ee= with passive meaning Employee,
-er= with active meaning Employer,
-ful= 1) with 1) Careful,
2) indicate quantity 2) Spoonful,
-ish= 1) with the quality 1) foolish,
2) rather 2) smallish,
- less= without Fearless,
-proof= safe against Waterproof,
-ar= to describe people Liar,
-er Designer,
-or Doctor,
-ist Artist,
-ian Technician,
-age (nouns formed from verbs) Leakage,
-al Proposal,
-ance Annoyance,
-ation Organization,
-ence Preference,
-ion Confusion,
-ment Amusement,
-sion Suspension,
-sis Analysis,
-tion Direction,
-y Surgery,
-y

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-ance (nouns formed from adj-s) Tolerance,

-cy Fluency,
-ence Obedience,
-tion Desperation,
-iness Happiness,
-ity Popularity,
-ment Contentment,
-ty Royalty,
-y Honesty,
-able (adj formed from verbs) Bearable,
-ive Decisive,
-en (verbs formed from adj/nouns) Darken,

Tips to be a successful foreign language learner

Practice every day, even if for 10 minutes.

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