Classical substitution ciphers and group theory

Thomas Kaeding

Paper 2023/669

Classical substitution ciphers and group theory

Thomas Kaeding

Abstract

We explore some connections between classical substitution ciphers, both monoalphabetic and polyalphabetic, and mathematical group theory. We try to do this in a way that is accessible to cryptographers who are not familiar with group theory, and to mathematicians who are not familiar with classical ciphers.

Note: added a bit about dihedral groups

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF
Publication info: Preprint.
Keywords: substitution cipher Vigenère Beaufort Porta Bellaso group theory
Contact author(s): insanitas @ proton me
History: 2023-05-28: revised; 2023-05-11: received; See all versions
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2023/669
License: CC BY-SA

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2023/669,
      author = {Thomas Kaeding},
      title = {Classical substitution ciphers and group theory},
      howpublished = {Cryptology ePrint Archive, Paper 2023/669},
      year = {2023},
      note = {\url{https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/669}},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/669}
}