Cryptanalysis

Cryptanalysis (from the Greek kryptós, "hidden", and analýein, "to loosen" or "to untie") is the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information, without access to the secret information which is normally required to do so. Typically, this involves finding a secret key. In non-technical language, this is the practice of codebreaking or cracking the code, although "break" can also mean just a part of a complete solution.

People have been making and breaking codes for many centuries. In the 1930s specialized machines were invented to do the calculations. Code-breaking machines such as the Colossus computer were important during World War II. Computers were the main tool of cryptanalysis in the Cold War and later.

 Related pages 
 Code
 Cryptography

 References 
 Helen Fouché Gaines, "Cryptanalysis", 1939, Dover. 

 Other websites 

 Basic Cryptanalysis
 Simon Singh's crypto corner 
 Distributed Computing Projects
 UltraAnvil tool for attacking simple substitution ciphers 
 A lot of real encrypted messages on newsgroups
 Kryptobull 
 The National Museum of Computing Cipher Challenge 

Category:Cryptography