Cipher algorithm in Cryptography

Cipher algorithm in Cryptography

Cipher algorithm in Cryptography – Cipher is an algorithm or procedure for creating encryption or decryption code used in Cryptography. It is a series of steps that can be followed to creating codes. It is a method of transforming a message to conceal its meaning. TLS/SSL specification defines many possible ciphers which can be used to encrypt data. A cipher is where a message is made by substituting one symbol for a letter. The common types of cipher are Alphabet Ciphers, Math based ciphers, Null Cipher, Substitution cipher, Transposition cipher, Playfair cipher, Running key cipher and others.

What are the Popular Types of Cipher?

1. Pigpen Cipher – It is a very simple substitution cipher. It was used in the 18^th century. It is also called as masonic cipher. It is also called as Tic-Tac-Toe cipher. The letters of the alphabet are replaced by fragments of a geometrical grid.
   
2. Ceasar Cipher – It is a substitution cipher where letters are substituted by a letter with a fixed shift in the alphabet. It is also called as shift cipher. This particular cipher is not very difficult to decipher and hence secret messages do not remain secret for long. It was named after Julius Caesar.
   
3. Book Cipher – Book ciphers are a different kind of secret code. It uses a very common article as key. The concept behind book cipher is that it transmit the location code (which are needed to find out specific word in the book). Here the location in the book are used to replace the plain text of the message.
   
4. Vigenere Cipher – It is the oldest way of coding which are designed to mask character frequency.
   
5. Enigma code – It was used by Germans during the Second World War. There could be over trillions of possible configurations and hence was difficult to decipher Enigma. It involved using an Enigma machine, which is similar to the type writer. All Germans had the same Enigma machine and the initial wheel configuration of the machine was communicated to all the teams.
   
6. Transposition Cipher – The letters of the alphabet are rearranged based on pre-determined key or rule. It was used during American Civil war and World War I to communicate each other.