While cryptography is almost as old as writing, its earliest applications were rather trivial and relatively easily broken via statistical analysis, as Al-Kindi proved in the VIIIth century. Modern ciphers deceive statistical analysis thanks to complex algorithms and ciphering keys. The very first concept of these can be found in a 1466 manuscript by Leon Battista Alberti, the importance of which was for many years overlooked. This paper focuses on the work by Alberti and its impact, within the framework of a brief and necessarily incomplete history of cryptography.

The roots of modern cryptography: Leon Battista Alberti's "De Cifris" / Selleri, Stefano. - In: THE RADIO SCIENCE BULLETIN. - ISSN 1024-4530. - ELETTRONICO. - 2020:(2020), pp. 55-63. [10.23919/URSIRSB.2020.9663133]

The roots of modern cryptography: Leon Battista Alberti's "De Cifris"

Selleri, Stefano
2020

Abstract

While cryptography is almost as old as writing, its earliest applications were rather trivial and relatively easily broken via statistical analysis, as Al-Kindi proved in the VIIIth century. Modern ciphers deceive statistical analysis thanks to complex algorithms and ciphering keys. The very first concept of these can be found in a 1466 manuscript by Leon Battista Alberti, the importance of which was for many years overlooked. This paper focuses on the work by Alberti and its impact, within the framework of a brief and necessarily incomplete history of cryptography.
2020
2020
55
63
Selleri, Stefano
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Utilizza questo identificatore per citare o creare un link a questa risorsa: https://hdl.handle.net/2158/1306661
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