My supervisors for the MSc were Professor Vic Rayward-Smith and Dr Geoff McKeown . The objective of this research was to examine the possible applications of genetic algorithms in cryptology, with the emphasis of the research being in the application of a genetic algorithm in the cryptanalysis of rotor machines with ciphertext only.
Cryptography is the science of conducting secure communication.
Cryptanalysis is the study of recovering communications by those other than the intended reciever. Cryptology is the umbrella term for cryptography and cryptanalysis, although cryptography is often used to mean cryptology. Cryptography has attracted much interest in recent years. While historically, cryptography was thought of as of interest to hobbyists and spies only, the increasing need for the secure transmission of large quantities of information and the advances made in public key cryptography have made cryptography an attractive subject. Statistics forms the basis of much cryptanalysis, and is also important in testing cryptographic systems for possible weaknesses.