6.06 Cryptography Basics

6.6 Cryptography Basics Curriculum Page

Cryptography Basics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z0CK3vMUjgNFre_S_XA3h_JAP32wc0vJ2bY0_h8XIqo/edit?usp=sharing

1. Explain briefly how the following substitution ciphers can be broken: Caesar cipher, Simple substitution cipher, Vigenere cipher.

A Caesar cipher can be broken by shifting all of the letters in the encrypted message over by a certain amount. A simple substitution cipher can be broken using frequency analysis to determine which characters are used most often. A Vigenere cipher is more complex, but can be broken using a polyalphabetic frequency analysis table.

2. Define symmetric encryption.

Symmetric encryption is a type of encryption that uses the same key for both encryption and decryption.