Chapter 5

Monoalphabetic Ciphers
Here is an example of a plaintext ciphertext alphabet pair for each type of
cipher we have seen thus far.
1. A Caesar cipher with key 5:
plaintext alphabet a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext alphabet F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E
2. A Decimation Cipher modulo 26 with key 21:
plaintext alphabet a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext alphabet U P K F A V Q L G B W R M H C X S N I D Y T O J E Z
3. A Linear Cipher modulo 26 with key 7m + 9:
plaintext alphabet a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext alphabet P W D K R Y F M T A H O V C J Q X E L S Z G N U B I
These are all monoalphabetic ciphers, ciphers in which the same plaintext
letters are always replaced by the same ciphertext letters. Mono, meaning one,
indicates that each letter has a single substitute. In this chapter we look at
other ways of creating monoalphabetic ciphers.
1
To construct a monoalphabetic cipher, we need to create some ordering of
the alphabet, such as S O M E R D I N G X H B V L T U J W K Y Z F A C P Q, and
pair it with a plaintext alphabet,
plaintext alphabet a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext alphabet S O M E R D I N G X H B V L T U J W K Y Z F A C P Q
1
When the ciphertext alphabet is in the usual order just shifted, as in (1), it is said to be
a regular or direct substitution alphabet. When the ciphertext alphabet is mixed up, as in
(2) and (3), it is said to be a mixed substitution alphabet. A reversed alphabet is another
possibility, and is exactly what it sounds like.
71
72 CHAPTER 5. MONOALPHABETIC CIPHERS
We then encipher and decipher by translating from the plaintext to ciphertext
alphabets and back, as usual. In this example alphabet becomes SBUNSORY.
However it is not particularly easy to remember apparently random orderings
of 26 letters. So we will concentrate a couple of well-known methods that use a
key to develop the ciphertext alphabets order.
5.1 Keyword Ciphers
To use Keyword Cipher method to construct the ciphertext alphabet, pick a
keyword and write it down, ignoring repeated letters. Follow it with the letters
of the alphabet that have not yet been used.
Example: Find the alphabet pairs for the keyword COLLEGE.
Crossing out the letters that are making their second appearance leaves
COLEG. To encipher then we use the pair of alphabets
plaintext a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext C O L E G A B D F H I J K M N P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Enciphering university then gives UMFVGRSFTY.
Clearly there is a problem with this cipher: it does a poor job of mixing the
ciphertext alphabet. Around 1580 Giovanni Battista Argenti suggested that one
also pick a keyletter and begin the keyword under that letter of the plaintext.
The Argentis, Giovanni and his nephew Matteo, form one of the great cryptology
families of the middle ages. After many years of trying, in 1590 Giovanni nally
became papal secretary of ciphers in Rome, only to quickly weaken from the
frequent necessary trips to Germany and France. Before dying on April 24,
1591, he passed his knowledge to his nephew Matteo who succeeded him and
held the oce during the reign of the next ve popes.
To use Giovannis method with keyletter p we would start COLEG under
pqrst, giving
plaintext a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext J K M N P Q R S T U V W X Y Z C O L E G A B D F H I
Then university is enciphered as AYTAPLETGH. This method mixes the cipher-
text alphabet better.
5.2. KEYWORD MIXED CIPHERS 73
Example: Encipher university using keyword xylophone and key F.
2

Even with the added complication, signicant parts of the alphabet are still
enciphered as in a Caesar cipher. Compare the ciphertext alphabet using key-
word COLLEGE and key P with the alphabet generated by the Caesar cipher with
keyletter L:
plaintext a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
COLLEGE and P J K M N P Q R S T U V W X Y Z C O L E G A B D F H I
Caesar key L L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K
There are many overlaps and near overlaps in the two cipher alphabets, which
makes a keyword cipher not much more secure than a Caesar cipher.
5.2 Keyword Mixed Ciphers
The cryptosystem we call Keyword Mixed Ciphers seems to have been in-
vented in 1854 by Sir Charles Wheatstone, whom we will meet again [Bauer,
page 48].
Pick a keyword and write it out, again ignoring repetitions of letters. Then
write the remainder of the alphabet underneath, using the same number of
columns as letters in the shortened keyword. Finally, pull o the columns in
order and write the letters underneath the plaintext alphabet.
Example: Find the ciphertext alphabet using a Keyword Mixed Cipher and
keyword COLLEGE.
First we remove the repeated letters, so the shortened keyword is COLEG.
Then we write the it down, followed by the remainder of the alphabet.
C O L E G
A B D F H
I J K M N
P Q R S T
U V W X Y
Z
Finally we pull out the columns in order.
plaintext a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext C A I P U Z O B J Q V L D K P Q E F M S X G H N T Y
This results in a nicely mixed ciphertext alphabet without obvious pattern.
2
JAOKZFGOIR
74 CHAPTER 5. MONOALPHABETIC CIPHERS
Examples: Use a Keyword Mixed Cipher.
(1) Encipher monoalphabetic using the keyword SIMPLE.
The columnar arrangement of the alphabet is
S I M P L E
A B C D F G
H J K N O Q
R T U V W X
Y Z
Pulling the columns o in order, left-to-right, and putting it under the
usual alphabet gives
plaintext a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext S A H R Y I B J T Z M C K U P D N V L F O W E G Q X
From here the enciphering should be quick.
(2) Encipher cryptology using the keyword SECRET.
(3) Decipher DPCRD JPUTI using the keyword HOMOPHONE.
(4) Decipher COACH SHOHS EU using the keyword DIRECT.
3

Keyword mixed ciphers are one of the best monoalphabetic ciphers. The
key is simple to choose, remember and change, and the cipher itself is easy to
setup and use. For these reasons there are a couple of modications that people
sometimes use: Keyword Transposed and Keyword Interrupted Ciphers.
5.3 Keyword Transposed Ciphers
In a Keyword Transposed Cipher we require the columns to be pulled o in
alphabetical order. So if we use again COLLEGE as the keyword, from the array
C O L E G
A B D F H
I J K M N
P Q R S T
U V W X Y
Z
3
(1) KPUPS CDJSA YFTH, (2) HFQWP OCOEQ, (3) polyphonic, (4) substitution.
5.4. INTERRUPTED KEYWORD CIPHERS 75
we rst pull out the C column, followed by the E column, and then the G, L and
nally O columns. This gives
plaintext a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext C A I P U Z E F M S X G H N T Y L D K P Q O B J Q V
as the substitution alphabet.
Examples: Use a Keyword Transposed Cipher.
(1) Encipher monoalphabetic using the keyword SIMPLE.
The columns of the alphabet look like
S I M P L E
A B C D F G
H J K N O Q
R T U V W X
Y Z
Pulling the columns o in alphabetical order gives the ciphertext alphabet
plaintext a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext E G Q X I B J T Z L F O W M C K U P D N V S A H R Y
From here the enciphering should again be quick.
(2) Encipher cryptology using the keyword SECRET.
(3) Decipher QFKLQ SFNYR using the keyword HOMOPHONE.
(4) Decipher RMHRF YFMFY BI using the keyword DIRECT.
4

5.4 Interrupted Keyword Ciphers
In an Interrupted Keyword Cipher instead of removing duplicated letters
put in * as a placeholder. This time COLLEGE becomes
C O L * E G *
A B D F H I J
K M N P Q R S
T U V W X Y Z
4
(1) WCMCE OKTEG INZQ, (2) JHQSU XFXBQ, (3) polyphonic, (4) substitution.
76 CHAPTER 5. MONOALPHABETIC CIPHERS
Then remove the ciphertext alphabet as in a keyword cipher, ignoring the *s:
plaintext a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext C A K T O B M U L D N V F P W E H Q X G I R Y J S Z
Finally, one can use Interrupted Keyword Transposed ciphers, but we wont.
5.5 Frequency Counts and Exhaustion
Are these new monoalphabetic ciphers any more secure than the ones we saw
earlier? Or will frequency analysis once again save (ruin?) the day? Lets try
to break a message enciphered with a keyword mixed cipher and see.
Example: KNHHXKK QS PXTDQSB YQFJ NSISCYS HQEJXUK QK LXTKNUXP AO
FJXKX RCNU FJQSBK QS FJX CUPXU STLXP EXUKXVXUTSHX HTUXRND LXFJCPK CR
TSTDOKQK QSFNQFQCS DNHI FJX TAQDQFO TF DXTKF FC UXTP FJX DTSBNTBX CR
FJX CUQBQSTD QK VXUO PXKQUTADX ANF SCF XKKXSFQTD
The letter frequency count of the ciphertext is
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
4 5 10 10 2 17 0 6 2 9 17 3 0 9 4 7 18 4 16 16 12 2 0 27 2 0
Does this look like a Caesar cipher? By far the most common letter is X, so
this is likely e. But if so then S and T are y and z, respectively, and it is not
likely that a message would have sixteen each of these letters. In fact, there
is no low sextuple. This is not a Caesar cipher. The ciphertexts letters have
been well enough mixed that the standard frequency patterns have been totally
destroyed.
This is the main advantage of the keyword ciphers: unless we know the
method and the keyword, it is quite dicult to directly detect the pattern in
the ordering of the ciphertext alphabet. In a Caesar cipher, once we knew where
the ciphertext version of e was located we were basically done. In Decimation
and Linear ciphers, knowing two letters allowed us to determine the rest. With
a keyword cipher, the ciphertext alphabet is mixed enough that knowing the
meanings of even ve or ten ciphertext letters does not necessarily disclose the
pattern of encryption.
What about exhaustion, one might ask? We might use a computer and
simply try all the possibilities. Working modulo 26 there are 26 dierent Caesar
ciphers. There are only 12 decimation ciphers modulo 26, and 26 12 = 312
linear ciphers. How many monoalphabetic ciphers are there? Well, we have 26
choices for which letter goes is substituted for a. Then we have 25 choices for
5.6. BASIC LETTER CHARACTERISTICS 77
the substitution for b, 24 for cs substitute, etc. Thus there are
26! = 26 25 24 2 1
= 403, 291, 461, 126, 605, 635, 584, 000, 000
dierent monoalphabetic substitution ciphers. How large of a number is this?
If we used a computer that could check one trillion dierent possibilities every
second, wed need about 12 million years to check all the possibilities!
Of course, no one simply uses brute force to break monoalphabetic ciphers.
In our current example X almost positively must be e. And most of etaoinshr
probably comes from CFKQSTU. This cuts down immensely on the number of
possibilities. But to decrypt such a cipher in a truly nite amount of time we
must go beyond simple frequency counts to consider the behaviors of the letters.
5.6 Basic Letter Characteristics
Weve seen which letters are the most common (etaoinshr) and least common
(vkjxqz). We next look at which letters appear rst and last in words. We
begin with the frequency information from earlier. (The initial and nal letter
percentages are from Sinkovs study of 16410 words [Sinkov].)
8.2 1.5 2.8 4.3 12.7 2.2 2.0 6.1 7.0 0.2 0.8 4.0 2.4
a b c d e f g h i j k l m
6.7 7.5 1.9 0.1 6.0 6.3 9.1 2.8 1.0 2.4 0.2 2.0 0.1
n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Figure 5.1: Letter Frequencies Anywhere.
11.0 4.6 5.6 2.8 2.5 4.1 1.8 3.9 5.6 0.6 0.5 2.1 3.5
a b c d e f g h i j k l m
2.4 7.2 4.7 0 3.1 7.4 15.9 1.4 0.6 5.1 0 0.7 0
n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Figure 5.2: Letter Frequencies Initial Letters.
Summarizing, the most common individual letters are
1) Anywhere: etaoi, 4 vowels and t.
2) Beginning words: tasoic, with t easily the most common.
3) Ending words: edtsn (almost spells endts).
4) Doubles: lesot.
We put this summary into Figure 5.4.
78 CHAPTER 5. MONOALPHABETIC CIPHERS
2.9 0.2 0.6 10.0 20.3 4.5 2.8 2.5 0.4 0 0.1 3.7 1.3
a b c d e f g h i j k l m
9.7 4.5 0.5 0 5.5 12.7 9.7 0.2 0.1 1.0 0.2 5.5 0
n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Figure 5.3: Letter Frequencies Final Letters.
a e i o t r n h s
common x X x x x
start x x x X x
end X x x x x x
doubles x x x x
Figure 5.4: Characteristics of etaoinshr.
We also list the most common short words in English in Figure 5.5 and one
list of the 100 most common English words, with the number of times they
appeared out of 1, 000, 000 words, in Figure 5.6.
1 letter words: a i
2 letter words: an at as he be in is it on or to of
3 letter words: the and (both really common,) was for his had
4 letter words: that with this from have
Figure 5.5: Most Common Short Words
Notice that the most common words by far, are non-context words: articles,
prepositions, conjunctions and other auxiliary particles. In fact, in some lists
the of and to a in make up nearly 20% of all words, and up to 70 of the 100
most used words are non-context words.
5.7 Aristocrats
We begin our breaking of general monoalphabetic ciphers with Aristocrats.
These are short quotations enciphered with a monoalphabetic substitution.
They appear in almost every newspaper, usually in the comics section. We
start with them since they tend to be not terribly dicult, mainly because they
keep word divisions and punctuation, and are frequently given with a hint.
Decrypting aristocrats is mostly simple hard work, although some of our
frequency information will be of service. Some suggested steps are
5.7. ARISTOCRATS 79
the 69971 or 4207 so 1984 like 1290
of 36411 have 3941 said 1961 our 1252
and 28852 an 3747 what 1908 over 1236
to 26149 i 3700 up 1895 man 1207
a 23237 they 3618 its 1858 me 1181
in 21341 which 3562 about 1815 even 1171
that 10595 one 3292 into 1791 most 1160
is 10099 you 3286 them 1789 made 1125
was 9816 were 3284 than 1789 after 1070
he 9543 her 3037 can 1772 also 1069
for 9489 all 3001 only 1747 did 1044
it 8756 she 2859 other 1702 many 1030
with 7289 there 2724 new 1635 before 1016
as 7250 would 2714 some 1617 must 1013
his 6997 their 2670 time 1599 through 969
on 6742 we 2653 could 1599 back 967
be 6377 him 2619 these 1573 where 938
at 5378 been 2472 two 1412 much 937
by 5305 has 2439 then 1377 your 923
this 5146 when 2331 do 1363 way 909
had 5133 who 2252 rst 1360 well 897
not 4609 more 2216 any 1345 should 888
are 4393 no 2201 my 1319 because 883
but 4381 if 2199 now 1314 each 877
from 4369 out 2096 such 1303 just 872
Figure 5.6: The 100 Most Common Words in English
1. Do a frequency count. Identify which ciphertext letters are most likely
etaoinshr. Be aware, however, that especially in short message, frequen-
cies can be very strange.
2. Look at the initial and nal letters of words. Use this to help identify
which etaoinshr letters are which.
3. Study the short words. There frequently are words like I, a, the and and
present.
4. Work hard. Mix eort with brain power. Remember that brilliant induc-
tive realizations usually come only after some hard thought.
Example: SDGHKHMP HP TDQJ ZBFXJQDEP KWBF LBQ, YDQ HF LBQ CDE BQJ
DFGC UHGGJZ DFMJ. LHFPKDF MWEQMWHGG Hint: G = l.
Substituting the given G = l gives the word UHllJZ=**ll**. So H and J
must be vowels, and U and Z are probably consonants. The words HP and HF
show P and F to be consonants, and H is perhaps i?
80 CHAPTER 5. MONOALPHABETIC CIPHERS
Turning to the frequency count
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
0 5 2 8 3 7 6 5 0 5 5 3 4 0 0 3 6 0 1 1 1 0 3 1 1 2
the most common letters are BDFGHJKQ. Of these, F, J and Q each occur three
times as nal letters. Lets guess that one of these is e. It cannot be F, a
consonant, nor Q, as then the word TDQJ would end in an e-vowel combination.
So e must be J.
Next, BQJ=BQe, so Q must be a consonant, and from LBQ, B is probably a
vowel, hence a or o. Trying B=o doesnt work. But when we try B=a, we quickly
see Q=r, making YDQ = YDr = Yor = for, as o is the only vowel then left.
At this point the cipher looks like *oli*i*s is *ore *an*ero*s **an *ar,
for in *ar *o* are onl* *ille* on*e. *in*on ***r**ill. From here the
quotation should be pretty easy to complete.
5

Clearly this example worked out a little too nicely, in part because we hid
some false starts and in part because time spent thinking and scratching ones
head is hard to indicate in text. But it should still give an idea of how Aristocrats
are attacked.
5.8 Summary
A monoalphabetic cipher is one in which the each plaintext letter is replaced by
the same ciphertext letter throughout the entire message. The Caesar or Shift
Ciphers, Decimation Ciphers and Linear Ciphers are all monoalphabetic, as are
the various types of Keyword Ciphers introduced in this chapter.
The Keyword Ciphers all use a keyword to develop an ordering of the cipher-
text alphabet. The more important ones are the Keyword Mixed and Keyword
Transposed Ciphers. Select a keyword and drop any repeated letters in it. Then
write the remainder of the alphabet underneath in as many columns as remain
in the keyword. For a Mixed Cipher the ciphertext alphabet is then the columns
pulled o in order, left-to-right, while for a Transposed Cipher the alphabet is
pulled o in alphabetical order of the top row.
A popular type of decryption puzzle is an Aristocrat, which is generally
a short quote enciphered with a monoalphabetic cipher. Word divisions and
punctuation are generally kept, and a hint is often given. The keys to decrypting
these ciphers include the usual frequency count, some knowledge of initial and
nal letters of words, and very often the use of common short words.
5
Politics is more dangerous than war, for in war you are only killed once.
Winston Churchill.
5.9. TOPICS AND TECHNIQUES 81
5.9 Topics and Techniques
1. What is the chief characteristic of a Monoalphabetic Cipher?
2. What is a Keyword Cipher? How do we encipher and decipher with it?
3. What is a Keyword Mixed Cipher? How do we encipher and decipher with
it?
4. Keyword Ciphers and Keyword Mixed Ciphers use their keyword dier-
ently. Explain the dierence.
5. What is a Keyword Transposed Cipher? How do we encipher and decipher
with it?
6. How do Keyword Mixed Ciphers and Keyword Transposed Ciphers dier?
7. What letters most commonly begin words in English?
8. What letters most commonly end words in English?
9. What are the most common one-letter words in English? Two-letter
words? Three-letter words?
10. What are the most common words in English?
11. What is an Aristocrat?
12. What steps help decrypt an Aristocrat?
5.10 Exercises
1. Encipher or decipher the following words using a Keyword Cipher with
the given keyword.
(a) democrat with REPUBLICAN.
(b) chocolate with HOT.
(c) JUIES OP with LETTERS.
(d) DSTLQ with TAILS.
(e) SQGSI LT with BASEBALL.
2. Encipher or decipher the following words using a Keyword Mixed Cipher
with keyword COLORS.
(a) canary.
(b) eggplant.
(c) fuchsia.
82 CHAPTER 5. MONOALPHABETIC CIPHERS
(d) lavender.
(e) DXLAU EET.
(f) PEGB HM.
(g) WUEHF HIVLU.
(h) DCOIU QC.
(i) JHUII C.
3. Encipher or decipher the following words using a Keyword Mixed Cipher
with keyword WEEKDAYS.
(a) Tuesday.
(b) Thursday.
(c) DOGTW J.
(d) CHKTW J.
(e) PYGTW J.
4. Encipher or decipher the following words. They were enciphered via a
Keyword Transposed Cipher with the keyword VEGETABLES.
(a) turnip.
(b) cabbage.
(c) lentil.
(d) eggplant.
(e) parsnip.
(f) MDHIA MI.
(g) RDORG WJA.
(h) RHRHP IJM.
(i) GKDFM AIO.
(j) RAHFOUFKVJM.
5. Decipher the following words. They were enciphered via a Keyword Mixed
Cipher with the given FRUITS.
(a) artichoke.
(b) guava.
(c) tapioca.
(d) mulberry.
(e) papaya.
(f) currant.
(g) DIKYB VFQFE Y.
5.10. EXERCISES 83
(h) DYVTP KKIQ.
(i) EFKFV PQO.
(j) FWFHFOI.
(k) UMKLMFE.
(l) KFQBI.
6. Encipher or decipher the following words using a Keyword Transposed
Cipher with the keyword AMERICA.
(a) Brazil.
(b) Columbia.
(c) Ecuador.
(d) French Guiana.
(e) BXNHL H.
(f) UYLYW XYAH.
(g) JXDML HFY.
(h) XDXBX HN.
(i) ZHDHB XHN.
7. Decipher the following words. They were enciphered via a Keyword Trans-
posed Cipher with the keyword SPORTS.
(a) Rugby.
(b) Tennis.
(c) Luge.
(d) Biathlon.
(e) Croquet.
(f) Lacrosse.
(g) COMIL NUXN.
(h) ROQOR LNB.
(i) VOLOD OL.
(j) SWUON AZW.
(k) CXEDL NB.
(l) HFLHR WU.
8. Encipher or decipher the following words using an Interrupted Keyword
Cipher with the given keyword.
(a) tea with keyword COFFEE.
(b) beer with keyword PRETZELS.
(c) LUAZC XE with keyword APPLES.
(d) STERI with keyword TELEVISION.
(e) RTJHI Z with keyword PAPER.
84 CHAPTER 5. MONOALPHABETIC CIPHERS
9. Decrypt the following Aristocrats. A hint has been given.
(a) ZJG REGFF ADLH DZRFG AFDRE, EDXG DKA ZXKYFGKDXVH BJKRXKQF RJ
YGJO. CQR TEJKF BDVVH RDTFG JZZ. IJEKKL BDGHJK.
Hint: R = t.
(b) KAHTH FN WJ XLW NJ EMHNNHC KALK NJXH RAJ NKLWC EP AFN CHLKAEHC
RJWK ALFM KAH JDDLNFJW RFKA CHMFIAK. XLTDSN LSTHMFSN.
Hint: A = h .
(c) E OEB IZ JVEYU KCH KVIRTZ E ZTJVTR IB EBU HRCTV KEU RCEB HBT
KCIJC KIWW JHBJTEW IR XVHO RCT FAWGEV. VHGTV DEJHB.
Hint: V = r.
(d) D QZJSEY ZO D VEGSAX AB TYZGZMK D VEOODKE OA GSDG ZG QDMMAG IE
YEDX IL DMLAME ZKMAYDMG AB GSE VEGSAX. BNEGQSEY JYDGG.
Hint: X = d.
10. Decrypt the following Aristocrats.
(a) IOKVK MVK UKTKVMZ JGGF XVGIKLICGHU MJMCHUI IKYXIMICGH ENI IOK
UNVKUI CU LGSMVFCLK YMVA ISMCH
(b) EKY HZMJECDZAX US EKY AZUSECHZAE CI JLWWNYS XCEEC CI EKY AXYZ-
UHAR HZMJECDZAJK ASSCHUAEUCR
(c) CP TEF HALZKCTO ZM QCREFKV CT CV ZPNO TEF FGCVTFPQF ZM KFDJPD-
APQO CP TEF ZKCXCPAN HFVVAXFV TEAT HAWFV A VZNJTCZP RZVVCINF
(d) MOY DYKP IOJIVJPFEPV ESDOKP LJ E JVFWOYK PFEJIV BGVJ BOFZLJA
OJ E IONV LP LK JOP OQPVJ NOJV CM IOJKILOYK VQQOFP DLKK QFLVN-
FLIGK
11. During the 1670s The Chevalier de Rohan was imprisoned under suspicion
of treason. While guilty, there was little evidence and his life depended on
the fate of his accomplice who lay dying in the same prison. If his friend
confessed, Rohan would be convicted and executed. If not, Rohan might
be able to go free.
Shortly before his trial Rohan received a note hidden in a bundle of cloth-
ing: PVQ RDOWYFQD OW XQSX VQ WSOX FYPVOFC. Should Rohan confess
and throw himself on the mercy of the court? Or should he stonewall
and hope to be let free? (The message was actually in French. For
those who read French, the ciphertext is MG EULHXCCLGU GHJ YXUJ LM
CT ULGC ALJ.)
12. Decrypt the following monoalphabetic cipher. Kahn [page 770] says a
similar method was used, albeit in Latin, to record this event.
J1629 B1762, 01ug3927 of W45541m B1762, cu71927 of 932 p17483, 48
b1p94820 J16u17y 1, 1645 46 C5219o7, Cumb275160, 26g5160
5.10. EXERCISES 85
13. Ciphers in which pairs of numbers replace each letter are called biliteral
or dinome ciphers. A simple way to construct such ciphers is to put
the letters of the alphabet into a rectangle and number the rows and the
columns. For example, if we use a ve-by-ve square, and squash i and j
together, we have
1 2 3 4 5
1 a b c d e
2 f g h ij k
3 l m n o p
4 q r s t u
5 v w x y z
To encipher, replace the letter by its rowcolumn number pair, that is,
read from the side rst. So box becomes 12 34 53. Deciphering is just
translating back into letters.
Use the given square to encipher or decipher the following.
(a) rectangle.
(b) square.
(c) 54 66 53 56. (Hint: 41 was added to every number before trans-
mission).
(d) 42 32 14 15 23 45 43. The alphabet was entered into the square
using the keyword DINOME.
(e) Perhaps the rst ever use of a password was when Giovanni Argenti,
around 1589, used PIETRO and a rectangle with two rows and 10
columns (0 being the rst). (The letters jkvwxy did not appear.) Us-
ing this method, 17 16 13 13 11 27 13 16 and 24 16 13 13 12
15 gives Argentis middle name and his nephews name. What are
they?
14. A larger bipartite cipher was used by Brig. General Leslie R. Groves
[Kahn, page 546]. It took the form
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1 I P I O U O P N
2 W E U T E K L O
3 E U G N B T N S T
4 T A Z M D I O E
5 S V T J E Y H
6 N A O L N S U G O E
7 C B A F R S I R
8 I C W Y R U A M N
9 M V T H P D I X Q
0 L S R E T D E A H E
86 CHAPTER 5. MONOALPHABETIC CIPHERS
(a) Groves used this cipher for certain telephone conversations during
the building of the atomic bomb. Encipher atomic bomb.
(b) Decipher 01-53 72-29-01 96-22-25-70 45-74 77-47-28-92-42. He
was Groves phone partner.
(c) The bomb was developed at 28-92-66 62-01-08-19-15-39.
15. Construct a complete sentence of at least six words that uses no es and
no ts.
16. John Jay served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Con-
gresses, as well as in the Continental Congress, eventually being elected
its president. He was only thirty-three when he was appointed Special
Minister to Spain in 1779. This was an especially important post: Jay
would have the responsibility for negotiating for the expected aid from
Spain, perhaps even an alliance, as well as for the right for Americans
to use the southern Mississippi for shipping (New Orleans then being in
Spains control).
Even before departing for Spain, Jay worried about the Spanish habit of
reading diplomatic correspondence. He proposed the following to Robert
R. Livingston, then delegate to the Continental Congress and Jays former
law partner.
On Board the Confederacy near Reedy Island, 25 October 1779
Dear Robert
... To render [our correspondence] more useful and satisfactory a
Cypher will be necessary. There are twenty six Letters in our alpha-
bet. Take twenty six Numbers in Lieu of them thus.
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
5 6 7 11 13 8 9 10 12 14 16 19 22 1 2 3 4 15 23 25 26 24 20 21 18 17
Remember in writing in this Way to place a , after each number, and
a ; or : or a - after each Word. This will prevent Confusion. [Morris,
pgs 656666]
(a) A portion of the remainder of this letter has been enciphered using
Jays method. Decipher it.
12, 25; 20, 12, 19, 19: 6, 13; 26, 1, 1, 13, 7, 13, 23, 23, 5, 15,
18- 25, 2; 20, 15, 12, 25, 13: 5: 20, 10, 2, 19, 13- Letter; 12, 1:
Cypher- 23, 2; 22, 5, 1, 18; 20, 2, 15, 11, 23: 12, 1- Cypher- 5,
23; 20, 12, 19, 19: 6, 19, 12, 1, 11; 25, 10, 13- Sense: 20, 12, 19,
19; 6, 13- 23, 26, 8, 8, 12, 7, 12, 13, 1, 25; 5, 1, 11: 22, 2, 15, 13-
23, 5, 8, 13: 5, 23- 5: Discovery: 20, 12, 19, 19: 25, 10, 13, 15,
13, 6, 18- 6, 13; 15, 13, 1, 11, 13, 15, 13, 11- 22, 2, 15, 13: 11, 12,
8, 8, 12, 7, 26, 19, 25
(b) The message contains some of Jays thoughts on making an enci-
phered message more secure. Do you agree or disagree with Jays
thoughts? Explain.
5.10. EXERCISES 87
17. General Pierre G.T. Beauregard, departmental commander of South Car-
olina, Georgia, and Florida forces of the Confederate Army sent Maj. Gen.
Patton Anderson the following on 7 April 1864 [Gaddy]
General:
I inclose you herewith the following simple cipher for future use in
important telegrams to these headquarters. For very important tele-
grams the diplomatic cipher should be used. Please inform me of its
reception.
[Inclosure]
A by M H by R O by U U by F
B by K I by S P by I V by Q
C by O J by V Q by G W by D
D by A K by H R by Y X by T
E by N L by X S by E Y by B
F by C M by P T by Z Z by J
G by W N by L
[end quote]
(a) Using this cipher, ORMYXNEZUL, EUFZR OMYUXSLM gives Beauregards
location. Where was he?
(b) Using this cipher, Andersons location was KMXADSL CXUYSAM. Where
is this?
18. (a) Here is a cipher sent during the controversy about the Florida elec-
toral returns following the 1876 Presidential election. [Glover, page
E-48].
Jacksonville, 13.
GEO. P. RANEY: 1:12 a.m., Nov. 14.
Y e e i e m n s p p a i s s i t p i n s i t i t a a s h s h y y p
i i m i m n s s s p e e n a a a i m a e n n s y i s n p i n s i m i
m p e a a i t y y e n.
DANIEL.
As the New York Tribune put it, It was evident, on a slight ex-
amination, that each letter in this cipher was not a substitute for
another letter. . . . Probably, then, each letter in the cipher alphabet
consisted of two characters. Why?
(b) The Tribune then continued with a second message, which, being
partly in plain English, seemed to promise a clew [sic].
88 CHAPTER 5. MONOALPHABETIC CIPHERS
JACKSONVILLE, Nov. 22
S. PASCO, Tallahassee:
Gave p p a i s h s h
charge of i t y y i t n
s he sent to m a
p i n s i m y y
p i i t But not to
the other. Brevard returns
sent you to-day E m y
y p i s s a i n y
Gone to Tallahassee Talla
with him and let me know if I
shall send trusty messenger.
J. J. DANIEL.
The Tribune started its explanation by noting that
It appeared to be nearly certain that the rst cipher word [in
the second message] was the name of a person, and the second
and third were names of counties. If we assume that each cipher
[letter] consists of two letters, we must nd as the equivalent of
ityyitns a word of four letters, the rst and third of which,
it, are the same. Dade is the only name in the list of Florida
counties which fulls these conditions. The letters of Dade are
repeated in the next word, and t in with the obvious interpre-
tation Brevard. . . . The construction of the rest of the alphabet
was now easy.
Please complete the construction of the alphabet, and so decrypt the
messages.