Paper 2021/063

CYBERCRYPT: Learn Basic Cryptographic Concepts while Playing

Monir Azraoui, Solenn Brunet, Sébastien Canard, Aïda Diop, Lélia Eveillard, Alicia Filipiak, Adel Hamdi, Flavie Misarsky, Donald Nokam Kuate, Marie Paindavoine, Quentin Santos, and Bastien Vialla

Abstract

Cryptography is used since the Antiquity to securely transmit messages. Thanks to a key that is shared between parties, the armies have been able to securely send commands and information to a distant unit. In the middle of the Twentieth Century, cryptography has experienced a drastic evolution and has become even more widespread, thanks to the development of computer science and the democratization of the digitization of the data transmitted between people. In particular, cryptologists Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman invented in 1976 the concept of public key cryptography, revolutionizing the way data can be protected, and paving the way to a new kind of cryptography that can be used for much more than data confidentiality. CYBERCRYPT is a collaborative and educational game that allows people to understand basic cryptographic mechanisms. It allows to discover from the oldest techniques (Scytale, Caesar and Vernam's encryption, Enigma machine) to most recent ones, currently implemented in our daily transactions (electronic signature, key exchange, etc.). CYBERCRYPT allows, through several rich and comprehensive workshops, to discover the different techniques used in cryptography, and also highlights the crucial importance of cryptography to protect our digital daily life.