The History of Cryptography

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Cryptography is the use of codes and ciphers to protect secrets and has been around for centuries. It has its beginnings in ancient Egypt and has played a role in every part of history to its current role in protecting communications across today’s computer networks.
In classical times cryptology was not as sophisticated as it is today, but it had its uses for that time in history. The early Greeks used what was called the Scytale Cipher. It was used between the Greek and Spartan armies and was very popular for its ease of use and the ability to translate a message. (“The Scytale Cipher”, n. d.)
The Scytale cipher is known as a transposition cipher and works by taking a roll of paper or leather, in the case of the Greeks, and wrapping it around a cylinder. The user then proceeds to write the message across the cylinder by placing a letter on each wrap of the paper. This continues until the message is complete. Once complete the paper is unwrapped and the encryption is complete. In order to be decrypted at the other end all that is needed is a cylinder of the same size. (“The Scytale Cipher”, n. d.)
The Romans also used ciphers, most notably the Caesar Cipher. The Caesar Cipher is typically a wheel device with an inner and outer wheel both printed with the alphabet. The Caesar cipher works by substituting a letter of the alphabet with another letter three positions down. This is one of the easiest codes to break since there are only 25 possible solutions. (“Caesar Cipher History”, n. d.)
One of the most significant discoveries of the use of cryptography in ancient times was the Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799 by Napoleon’s army while digging fortifications while stranded in ancient Egypt. The stone told...

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...com – Ancient / Classical History, Retrieved March 5, 2014, from http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/egypt/p/rosettastone.htm
Lycett, Andrew, (2014), Enigma, BBC – History, Retrieved March 5, 2014, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/topics/enigma
Morelli, R., (April 25, 2010), Edgar Allan Poe and Cryptography, Cryptography, Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://www.cs.trincoll.edu/~crypto/historical/poe.html
Rouse, Margaret, (July 2006), Data Encryption Standard (DES), SearchSecurity, Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/Data-Encryption-Standard
Servos, William, (2006), The Alberti Cipher, Cryptography, Retrieved March 5, 2014, from http://www.cs.trincoll.edu/~crypto/historical/alberti.html
Tyson, Jeff, (n. d.), How Encryption Works, How Stuff Works, retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://computer.howstuffworks.com/encryption3.htm

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