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'''Encryption''' is the process of changing [[data]] into a secret [[code]].<ref>http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/E/encryption.html</ref> It is usually carried out today by [[computer]]s, although in the past it was traditionally carried out by analog machines or by specialists known as [[cryptographer]]s.

'''Encryption''' is the process of changing [[data]] into a secret [[code]].<ref>http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/E/encryption.html</ref> It is usually carried out today by [[computer]]s, although in the past it was traditionally carried out by analog machines or by specialists known as [[cryptographer]]s.

The earliest known form of encryption is that known as "ROT-13", or the "[[Caesar]] cipher", because its invention was once reportedly attributed to [[Julius Caesar]].<ref>Far more likely, however, is that the Caesar cipher was invented by a [[mathematician]] in Caesar's employ, and Caesar merely took the credit, much as [[Henry VIII]] took credit for the melody of "[[Greensleeves]]", or President [[James Garfield]] claimed to have discovered a novel proof of the [[Pythagorean Theorem]].</ref> In the Caesar cipher, each letter of the message (or "plaintext") is shifted forward in the alphabet by 13 places; for example, "CIPHER" becomes "PVCURE".<ref>The lack of the letters "J", "Q", "U", and "W" in the [[Latin]] alphabet posed an impediment to the Caesar shift's widespread adoption, since the encoded ciphertext would actually have read "PVCVRE" and thus had four different possible decodings.</ref> The Caesar cipher is what is called a ''[[symmetry|symmetric]] cipher'', meaning that the method of encryption is the same as the method of decryption (rotate by 13 characters), and therefore it is just as easy to decode any message as it was to encode it. This presents a security problem, as attempting to encrypt text twice for extra security often returns the original text. For this reason, modern cryptanalysts tend to view most symmetric encryption methods as flawed.<ref>http://www.centurionsoft.com/centurionmail/wpencryption.html</ref>

The earliest known form of encryption is that known as "ROT-13", or the "[[Caesar]] cipher", because its invention was once reportedly attributed to [[Julius Caesar]].<ref>Far more likely, however, is that the Caesar cipher was invented by a [[mathematician]] in Caesar's employ, and Caesar merely took the credit, much as [[Henry VIII]] took credit for the melody of "[[Greensleeves]]", or President [[James Garfield]] claimed to have discovered a novel proof of the [[Pythagorean Theorem]].</ref> In the Caesar cipher, each letter of the message (or "plaintext") is shifted forward in the alphabet by 13 places; for example, "CIPHER" becomes "PVCURE".<ref>The lack of the letters "J", "Q", "U", and "W" in the [[Latin]] alphabet posed an impediment to the Caesar shift's widespread adoption, since the encoded ciphertext would actually have read "PVCVRE" and thus had four different possible decodings.</ref> The Caesar cipher is what is called a ''[[symmetry|symmetric]] cipher'', meaning that the method of encryption is the same as the method of decryption (rotate by 13 characters), and therefore it is just as easy to decode any message as it was to encode it. For this reason, modern cryptanalysts tend to view most symmetric encryption methods as flawed.<ref>http://www.centurionsoft.com/centurionmail/wpencryption.html</ref>

Another popular historical encryption method was the "enigma machine" developed by [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]]. The enigma machine (or ''ENIGMA'' for short) worked on the plugboard principle. It had the ability to generate many different ciphertexts for the same plaintext, which meant that Allied cryptographers could no longer rely on being able to match encoded texts with plaintexts. Prior to World War II, cryptographers had gotten used to being able to collate messages with their ciphertexts to create large "dictionaries" (for example, matching the ciphertext "PVCURE" with its plaintext "CIPHER" in the above example). These code dictionaries could then be used to launch dictionary attacks against messages whose decodings were not yet known. ''ENIGMA'' rendered this tactic hopeless. For example, while "PVCURE" might mean "GIVEUP" on Monday, it might mean "ATTACK" on Tuesday.

Another popular historical encryption method was the "enigma machine" developed by [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]]. The enigma machine (or ''ENIGMA'' for short) worked on the plugboard principle. It had the ability to generate many different ciphertexts for the same plaintext, which meant that Allied cryptographers could no longer rely on being able to match encoded texts with plaintexts. Prior to World War II, cryptographers had gotten used to being able to collate messages with their ciphertexts to create large "dictionaries" (for example, matching the ciphertext "PVCURE" with its plaintext "CIPHER" in the above example). These code dictionaries could then be used to launch dictionary attacks against messages whose decodings were not yet known. ''ENIGMA'' rendered this tactic hopeless. For example, while "PVCURE" might mean "CIPHER" on Monday, it might mean "ATTACK" on Tuesday.

The Enigma cipher was eventually cracked by homosexual and atheist<ref>http://thomasj1776.multiply.com/journal/item/69?&item_id=69</ref> British mathematician [[Alan Turing]], with the aid of a computer. This was the beginning of modern cryptography as a science, although few advancements were made from the end of WWII until the rise of the [[Internet]] in the 1980s.

The Enigma cipher was eventually cracked by homosexual<ref>http://thomasj1776.multiply.com/journal/item/69?&item_id=69</ref> British mathematician [[Alan Turing]], with the aid of a computer. This was the beginning of modern cryptography as a science, although few advancements were made from the end of WWII until the rise of the [[Internet]] in the 1980s.

Today, encryption is used primarily by [[hacker]]s and other anti-government types to conceal their activities from the federal government. For example, the leftist [[GNU]] organization provides a program called "[[Pretty Good Privacy]]" (PGP) for encrypting [[e-mail]]. Several forms of "strong" encryption are considered [[munitions]] under federal law, and may not be exported to belligerent countries such as [[Iran]].<ref>[http://www.stanford.edu/dept/DoR/exp_controls/encryption1.html "Encryption Export Controls"] at ''stanford.edu''</ref>

Today, encryption is used primarily by [[hacker]]s and other anti-government types to conceal their activities from the federal government. For example, the leftist [[GNU]] organization provides a program called "[[Pretty Good Privacy]]" (PGP) for encrypting [[e-mail]]. Several forms of "strong" encryption are considered [[munitions]] under federal law, and may not be exported to belligerent countries such as [[Iran]].<ref>[http://www.stanford.edu/dept/DoR/exp_controls/encryption1.html "Encryption Export Controls"] at ''stanford.edu''</ref>

==See also==

==See also==