Major Cipher Types Analyzed:
Caesar Cipher: shift letters by a fixed number, example (A to D or B to E(shift +3)), uniform spacing
Atbash Cipher: reverse alphabet (A=Z, B=Y, etc), used by Hebrew scholars, symmetrical letter mapping
Simple Substitution Cipher: each letter replaced by a unique counterpart, key-based/random, frequency analysis breaks it with effort
Pigpen Cipher: geometric substitution, often used by Freemasons, unusual symbols( boxes, dots, etc)
Nihilist Cipher: polybius square + numerical key and numeric-only cipher with non-liner spacing
Rail Fence Cipher: letters arranged in a zigzag pattern across "rails" and letter frequency remains
Columnar Transposition: write message in rows, reorder columns based on key, grid-based rearrangement
Scytale Cipher: spartan tool using wrapped messages on a rod
Vigenere Cipher: poly-alphabetic using repeated keyword (A to Z shifts) and cracked via Kasiski
Beaufort Cipher: reverse vigenere
Playfair Cipher: encrypts diagraphs (letter pairs), uses 5x5 matrix, no letter appears twice in a diagraph
Hill Cipher: matrix-based polygraphic cipher and requires linear algebra to decrypt
Book Cipher: message encoded by referencing a shared book (page, line, etc)
Bacon's Cipher: binary steganography
Tap/Knock Code: based on polybius square and uses patterns of two-digit taps (1-5)
Morse Code: dots and dashes
Base64 Encoding: used in modern digital text obfuscation and ends in = or ==
ROT13/ROT47: shifts alphabet 13 or 47 characters
RSA Encryption (Asymmetric): long strips, hexadecimal, or base64 format
Symmetric Block Cipher: binary patterns
Zodiac Cipher: homophonic substitution (several symbols for the same letter), 54 symbols, preserved basic English patterns
Enigma Cipher: 3-5 wheels with internal wiring, bounces signal back through rotors, swaps letter pairs before/after rotors