CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Ciphertext - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"fb53ecf4-d913-436c-a5c1-08d3da3e446d","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Ciphertext","wgTitle":"Ciphertext","wgCurRevisionId":1253800057,"wgRevisionId":1253800057,"wgArticleId":175560,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list","Articles with short description","Short description matches Wikidata","Commons category link from Wikidata","Cryptography"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Ciphertext","wgRelevantArticleId":175560,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive": false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":9000,"wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":false,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q1589480","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={ "ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","ext.math.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","jquery.makeCollapsible.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","mediawiki.page.media","site","mediawiki.page.ready","jquery.makeCollapsible","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth", "ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.math.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cjquery.makeCollapsible.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.4"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Zimmermann_Telegram.jpeg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1602"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Zimmermann_Telegram.jpeg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1068"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Zimmermann_Telegram.jpeg/640px-Zimmermann_Telegram.jpeg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="854"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Ciphertext - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciphertext"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciphertext"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Ciphertext rootpage-Ciphertext skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Ciphertext" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Ciphertext" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Ciphertext" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Ciphertext" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Conceptual_underpinnings" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Conceptual_underpinnings"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Conceptual underpinnings</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Conceptual_underpinnings-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Types_of_ciphers" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Types_of_ciphers"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Types of ciphers</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Types_of_ciphers-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Types of ciphers subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Types_of_ciphers-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Historical_ciphers" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Historical_ciphers"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Historical ciphers</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Historical_ciphers-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Modern_ciphers" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Modern_ciphers"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Modern ciphers</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Modern_ciphers-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Cryptanalysis" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Cryptanalysis"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Cryptanalysis</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Cryptanalysis-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Cryptanalysis subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Cryptanalysis-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Attack_models" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Attack_models"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Attack models</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Attack_models-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Famous_ciphertexts" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Famous_ciphertexts"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Famous ciphertexts</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Famous_ciphertexts-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciphertext</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 17 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-17" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">17 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%86%D8%B5_%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%89" title="نص معمى – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="نص معمى" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-min-nan mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-min-nan.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80m-b%C3%A9-b%C3%BBn" title="Àm-bé-bûn – Minnan" lang="nan" hreflang="nan" data-title="Àm-bé-bûn" data-language-autonym="閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú" data-language-local-name="Minnan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_xifrat" title="Text xifrat – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Text xifrat" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geheimtext" title="Geheimtext – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Geheimtext" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texto_cifrado" title="Texto cifrado – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Texto cifrado" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%AA%D9%86_%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B2%D9%86%DA%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C_%D8%B4%D8%AF%D9%87" title="متن رمزنگاری شده – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="متن رمزنگاری شده" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%95%94%ED%98%B8%EB%AC%B8" title="암호문 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="암호문" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teks_tersandi" title="Teks tersandi – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Teks tersandi" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teks_sifer" title="Teks sifer – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Teks sifer" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9A%97%E5%8F%B7%E6%96%87" title="暗号文 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="暗号文" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szyfrogram_(kryptografia)" title="Szyfrogram (kryptografia) – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Szyfrogram (kryptografia)" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A8%D0%B8%D1%84%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D1%82" title="Шифротекст – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Шифротекст" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciphertext" title="Ciphertext – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Ciphertext" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Eifreli_metin" title="Şifreli metin – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Şifreli metin" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A8%D0%B8%D1%84%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D1%82" title="Шифротекст – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Шифротекст" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AF%86%E6%96%87" title="密文 – Cantonese" lang="yue" hreflang="yue" data-title="密文" data-language-autonym="粵語" data-language-local-name="Cantonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>粵語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AF%86%E6%96%87" title="密文 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="密文" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1589480#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Ciphertext" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Ciphertext" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Ciphertext"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Ciphertext"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Ciphertext" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Ciphertext" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&oldid=1253800057" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Ciphertext&id=1253800057&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCiphertext"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCiphertext"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Ciphertext&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-commons mw-list-item"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ciphertexts" hreflang="en"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1589480" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Encrypted information</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This article is about encrypted information. For an overview of cryptographic technology in general, see <a href="/wiki/Cryptography" title="Cryptography">Cryptography</a>.</div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Zimmermann_Telegram.jpeg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Zimmermann_Telegram.jpeg/250px-Zimmermann_Telegram.jpeg" decoding="async" width="250" height="334" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Zimmermann_Telegram.jpeg/375px-Zimmermann_Telegram.jpeg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Zimmermann_Telegram.jpeg/500px-Zimmermann_Telegram.jpeg 2x" data-file-width="708" data-file-height="945" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Zimmermann_Telegram" class="mw-redirect" title="Zimmermann Telegram">Zimmermann Telegram</a> (as it was sent from Washington to Mexico) encrypted as ciphertext.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Hollow_Nickel_Message.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Hollow_Nickel_Message.jpg/220px-Hollow_Nickel_Message.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="231" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Hollow_Nickel_Message.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="250" data-file-height="262" /></a><figcaption>KGB ciphertext found in a <a href="/wiki/Hollow_Nickel_Case" title="Hollow Nickel Case">hollow nickel</a> in Brooklyn in 1953</figcaption></figure> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Cryptography" title="Cryptography">cryptography</a>, <b>ciphertext</b> or <b>cyphertext</b> is the result of <a href="/wiki/Encryption" title="Encryption">encryption</a> performed on <a href="/wiki/Plaintext" title="Plaintext">plaintext</a> using an algorithm, called a <a href="/wiki/Cipher" title="Cipher">cipher</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Ciphertext is also known as encrypted or encoded information because it contains a form of the original plaintext that is unreadable by a human or computer without the proper cipher to decrypt it. This process prevents the loss of sensitive information via hacking. <a href="/wiki/Decryption" class="mw-redirect" title="Decryption">Decryption</a>, the inverse of encryption, is the process of turning ciphertext into readable plaintext. Ciphertext is not to be confused with <a href="/wiki/Codetext" class="mw-redirect" title="Codetext">codetext</a> because the latter is a result of a code, not a cipher. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Conceptual_underpinnings">Conceptual underpinnings</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Conceptual underpinnings"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Let <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle m\!}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>m</mi> <mspace width="negativethinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle m\!}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/e1b2d8ab15f0b9edbafa76777ed0ddcec36855ae" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.338ex; margin-right: -0.338ex; width:1.992ex; height:1.676ex;" alt="{\displaystyle m\!}"></span> be the plaintext message that Alice wants to secretly transmit to Bob and let <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle E_{k}\!}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <msub> <mi>E</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>k</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mspace width="negativethinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle E_{k}\!}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/305293b3c047f767d26550bf345e294b44ae484b" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.671ex; margin-right: -0.387ex; width:2.804ex; height:2.509ex;" alt="{\displaystyle E_{k}\!}"></span> be the encryption cipher, where <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle _{k}\!}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <msub> <mi></mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>k</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mspace width="negativethinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle _{k}\!}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/9b1bb5656be8f4b99a72279e86397bc289964d2a" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.671ex; margin-right: -0.387ex; width:1.089ex; height:1.676ex;" alt="{\displaystyle _{k}\!}"></span> is a <a href="/wiki/Secret_key" class="mw-redirect" title="Secret key">cryptographic key</a>. Alice must first transform the plaintext into ciphertext, <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle c\!}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>c</mi> <mspace width="negativethinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle c\!}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/62580b3a305faffbdacb0ea283dd1624bf9b37b2" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.338ex; margin-right: -0.38ex; width:1ex; height:1.676ex;" alt="{\displaystyle c\!}"></span>, in order to securely send the message to Bob, as follows: </p> <dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle c=E_{k}(m).\!}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>c</mi> <mo>=</mo> <msub> <mi>E</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>k</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <mi>m</mi> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> <mo>.</mo> <mspace width="negativethinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle c=E_{k}(m).\!}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/b75cdab762f977641eb1330674abea43784555e3" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.838ex; margin-right: -0.204ex; width:11.222ex; height:2.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle c=E_{k}(m).\!}"></span><sup id="cite_ref-Fundamentals_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Fundamentals-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></dd></dl> <p>In a symmetric-key system, Bob knows Alice's encryption key. Once the message is encrypted, Alice can safely transmit it to Bob (assuming no one else knows the key). In order to read Alice's message, Bob must decrypt the ciphertext using <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {E_{k}}^{-1}\!}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <msup> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msub> <mi>E</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>k</mi> </mrow> </msub> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>−</mo> <mn>1</mn> </mrow> </msup> <mspace width="negativethinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {E_{k}}^{-1}\!}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/d39aab977570c762e28e3036a1197513ba16d68e" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.671ex; margin-right: -0.387ex; width:5.137ex; height:3.009ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {E_{k}}^{-1}\!}"></span> which is known as the decryption cipher, <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle D_{k}:\!}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <msub> <mi>D</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>k</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>:</mo> <mspace width="negativethinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle D_{k}:\!}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/ca9a50c9e782afb2d1cb1fcb43a4425c572019a7" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.671ex; margin-right: -0.204ex; width:4.122ex; height:2.509ex;" alt="{\displaystyle D_{k}:\!}"></span> </p> <dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle D_{k}(c)=D_{k}(E_{k}(m))=m.\!}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <msub> <mi>D</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>k</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <mi>c</mi> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> <mo>=</mo> <msub> <mi>D</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>k</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <msub> <mi>E</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>k</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <mi>m</mi> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> <mo>=</mo> <mi>m</mi> <mo>.</mo> <mspace width="negativethinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle D_{k}(c)=D_{k}(E_{k}(m))=m.\!}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/1c9473815319aafdf2bed308ef05eba7a9004460" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.838ex; margin-right: -0.204ex; width:26.006ex; height:2.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle D_{k}(c)=D_{k}(E_{k}(m))=m.\!}"></span><sup id="cite_ref-Fundamentals_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Fundamentals-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></dd></dl> <p>Alternatively, in a non-symmetric key system, everyone, not just Alice and Bob, knows the encryption key; but the decryption key cannot be inferred from the encryption key. Only Bob knows the decryption key <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle D_{k},}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <msub> <mi>D</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>k</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo>,</mo> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle D_{k},}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/db31f4eb974acd46d954c0100948988aa4c68053" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.671ex; width:3.66ex; height:2.509ex;" alt="{\displaystyle D_{k},}"></span> and decryption proceeds as </p> <dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle D_{k}(c)=m.}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <msub> <mi>D</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>k</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <mi>c</mi> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> <mo>=</mo> <mi>m</mi> <mo>.</mo> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle D_{k}(c)=m.}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/0182ad9da88712d6c8de9cab8b6c9f74412e5da9" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.838ex; width:11.615ex; height:2.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle D_{k}(c)=m.}"></span></dd></dl> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Types_of_ciphers">Types of ciphers</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Types of ciphers"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Cipher" title="Cipher">Cipher</a></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/History_of_cryptography" title="History of cryptography">history of cryptography</a> began thousands of years ago. Cryptography uses a variety of different types of encryption. Earlier algorithms were performed by hand and are substantially different from modern <a href="/wiki/Algorithm" title="Algorithm">algorithms</a>, which are generally executed by a machine. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Historical_ciphers">Historical ciphers</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Historical ciphers"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Historical pen and paper ciphers used in the past are sometimes known as <a href="/wiki/Classical_cipher" title="Classical cipher">classical ciphers</a>. They include: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Substitution_cipher" title="Substitution cipher">Substitution cipher</a>: the units of plaintext are replaced with ciphertext (e.g., <a href="/wiki/Caesar_cipher" title="Caesar cipher">Caesar cipher</a> and <a href="/wiki/One-time_pad" title="One-time pad">one-time pad</a>) <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Polyalphabetic_substitution" class="mw-redirect" title="Polyalphabetic substitution">Polyalphabetic substitution cipher</a>: a substitution cipher using multiple substitution alphabets (e.g., <a href="/wiki/Vigen%C3%A8re_cipher" title="Vigenère cipher">Vigenère cipher</a> and <a href="/wiki/Enigma_machine" title="Enigma machine">Enigma machine</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polygraphic_substitution" title="Polygraphic substitution">Polygraphic substitution</a> cipher: the unit of substitution is a sequence of two or more letters rather than just one (e.g., <a href="/wiki/Playfair_cipher" title="Playfair cipher">Playfair cipher</a>)</li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transposition_cipher" title="Transposition cipher">Transposition cipher</a>: the ciphertext is a <a href="/wiki/Permutation" title="Permutation">permutation</a> of the plaintext (e.g., <a href="/wiki/Rail_fence" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail fence">rail fence cipher</a>)</li></ul> <p>Historical ciphers are not generally used as a standalone encryption technique because they are quite easy to crack. Many of the classical ciphers, with the exception of the one-time pad, can be cracked using <a href="/wiki/Brute_force_attack" class="mw-redirect" title="Brute force attack">brute force</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Modern_ciphers">Modern ciphers</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Modern ciphers"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Modern ciphers are more secure than classical ciphers and are designed to withstand a wide range of attacks. An attacker should not be able to find the key used in a modern cipher, even if they know any specifics about the plaintext and its corresponding ciphertext. Modern encryption methods can be divided into the following categories: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Private-key_cryptography" class="mw-redirect" title="Private-key cryptography">Private-key cryptography</a> (<a href="/wiki/Symmetric_key_algorithm" class="mw-redirect" title="Symmetric key algorithm">symmetric key algorithm</a>): one shared key is used for encryption and decryption</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Public-key_cryptography" title="Public-key cryptography">Public-key cryptography</a> (<a href="/wiki/Asymmetric_key_algorithm" class="mw-redirect" title="Asymmetric key algorithm">asymmetric key algorithm</a>): two different keys are used for encryption and decryption</li></ul> <p>In a symmetric key algorithm (e.g., <a href="/wiki/Data_Encryption_Standard" title="Data Encryption Standard">DES</a>, <a href="/wiki/Advanced_Encryption_Standard" title="Advanced Encryption Standard">AES</a>), the sender and receiver have a shared key established in advance: the sender uses the shared key to perform encryption; the receiver uses the shared key to perform decryption. Symmetric key algorithms can either be <a href="/wiki/Block_cipher" title="Block cipher">block ciphers</a> or <a href="/wiki/Stream_cipher" title="Stream cipher">stream ciphers</a>. Block ciphers operate on fixed-length groups of bits, called blocks, with an unvarying transformation. Stream ciphers encrypt plaintext digits one at a time on a continuous stream of data, with the transformation of successive digits varying during the encryption process. </p><p>In an asymmetric key algorithm (e.g., <a href="/wiki/RSA_(algorithm)" class="mw-redirect" title="RSA (algorithm)">RSA</a>), there are two different keys: a <i>public key</i> and a <i>private key.</i> The <i>public key</i> is published, thereby allowing any sender to perform encryption. The <i>private key</i> is kept secret by the receiver, thereby allowing only the receiver to correctly perform decryption. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Cryptanalysis">Cryptanalysis</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Cryptanalysis"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Zimmermann-telegramm-offen.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Zimmermann-telegramm-offen.jpg/250px-Zimmermann-telegramm-offen.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="295" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Zimmermann-telegramm-offen.jpg/375px-Zimmermann-telegramm-offen.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Zimmermann-telegramm-offen.jpg/500px-Zimmermann-telegramm-offen.jpg 2x" data-file-width="508" data-file-height="600" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Zimmermann_Telegram" class="mw-redirect" title="Zimmermann Telegram">Zimmermann Telegram</a> decrypted into plaintext (and translated into English).</figcaption></figure> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Cryptanalysis" title="Cryptanalysis">Cryptanalysis</a></div> <p>Cryptanalysis (also referred to as codebreaking or <a href="/wiki/Password_cracking" title="Password cracking">cracking the code</a>) is the study of applying various methodologies to obtain the meaning of encrypted information, without having access to the cipher required to correctly decrypt the information. This typically involves gaining an understanding of the system design and determining the cipher. </p><p>Cryptanalysts can follow one or more <a href="/wiki/Attack_model" title="Attack model">attack models</a> to crack a cipher, depending upon what information is available and the type of cipher being analyzed. Ciphertext is generally the most easily obtained part of a <a href="/wiki/Cryptosystem" title="Cryptosystem">cryptosystem</a> and therefore is an important part of cryptanalysis. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Attack_models">Attack models</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Attack models"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ciphertext-only_attack" title="Ciphertext-only attack">Ciphertext-only</a>: the cryptanalyst has access only to a collection of ciphertexts or code texts. This is the weakest attack model because the cryptanalyst has limited information. Modern ciphers rarely fail under this attack.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Known-plaintext_attack" title="Known-plaintext attack">Known-plaintext</a>: the attacker has a set of ciphertexts to which they know the corresponding plaintext</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chosen-plaintext_attack" title="Chosen-plaintext attack">Chosen-plaintext attack</a>: the attacker can obtain the ciphertexts corresponding to an arbitrary set of plaintexts of their own choosing <ul><li>Batch chosen-plaintext attack: where the cryptanalyst chooses all plaintexts before any of them are encrypted. This is often the meaning of an unqualified use of "chosen-plaintext attack".</li> <li>Adaptive chosen-plaintext attack: where the cryptanalyst makes a series of interactive queries, choosing subsequent plaintexts based on the information from the previous encryptions.</li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chosen-ciphertext_attack" title="Chosen-ciphertext attack">Chosen-ciphertext attack</a>: the attacker can obtain the plaintexts corresponding to an arbitrary set of ciphertexts of their own choosing <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Adaptive_chosen-ciphertext_attack" title="Adaptive chosen-ciphertext attack">Adaptive chosen-ciphertext attack</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Indifferent_chosen-ciphertext_attack" class="mw-redirect" title="Indifferent chosen-ciphertext attack">Indifferent chosen-ciphertext attack</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Related-key_attack" title="Related-key attack">Related-key attack</a>: similar to a chosen-plaintext attack, except the attacker can obtain ciphertexts encrypted under two different keys. The keys are unknown, but the relationship between them is known (e.g., two keys that differ in the one bit).</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Famous_ciphertexts">Famous ciphertexts</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Famous ciphertexts"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/List_of_ciphertexts" title="List of ciphertexts">List of ciphertexts</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Shugborough_inscription.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Shugborough_inscription.jpg/260px-Shugborough_inscription.jpg" decoding="async" width="260" height="47" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Shugborough_inscription.jpg/390px-Shugborough_inscription.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Shugborough_inscription.jpg/520px-Shugborough_inscription.jpg 2x" data-file-width="936" data-file-height="169" /></a><figcaption>The Shugborough inscription, England</figcaption></figure> <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/Babington_Plot" title="Babington Plot">Babington Plot</a> ciphers</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Shugborough_inscription" title="Shugborough inscription">Shugborough inscription</a></li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Zimmermann_Telegram" class="mw-redirect" title="Zimmermann Telegram">Zimmermann Telegram</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Magic_Words_are_Squeamish_Ossifrage" title="The Magic Words are Squeamish Ossifrage">The Magic Words are Squeamish Ossifrage</a></li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Cryptogram" title="Cryptogram">cryptogram</a> in "<a href="/wiki/The_Gold-Bug" title="The Gold-Bug">The Gold-Bug</a>"</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Beale_ciphers" title="Beale ciphers">Beale ciphers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kryptos" title="Kryptos">Kryptos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zodiac_Killer" title="Zodiac Killer">Zodiac Killer</a> ciphers</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Books_on_cryptography" class="mw-redirect" title="Books on cryptography">Books on cryptography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cryptographic_hash_function" title="Cryptographic hash function">Cryptographic hash function</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Frequency_analysis" title="Frequency analysis">Frequency analysis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/RED/BLACK_concept" class="mw-redirect" title="RED/BLACK concept">RED/BLACK concept</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Undeciphered_historical_codes_and_ciphers" title="Category:Undeciphered historical codes and ciphers">Category:Undeciphered historical codes and ciphers</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-columns-2"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFBerti,_Hansche,_Hare2003" class="citation book cs1">Berti, Hansche, Hare (2003). <i>Official (ISC)² Guide to the <a href="/wiki/CISSP" class="mw-redirect" title="CISSP">CISSP</a> Exam</i>. Auerbach Publications. pp. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/officialiscguide0000hans/page/379">379</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8493-1707-X" title="Special:BookSources/0-8493-1707-X"><bdi>0-8493-1707-X</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Official+%28ISC%29%C2%B2+Guide+to+the+CISSP+Exam&rft.pages=379&rft.pub=Auerbach+Publications&rft.date=2003&rft.isbn=0-8493-1707-X&rft.au=Berti%2C+Hansche%2C+Hare&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACiphertext" class="Z3988"></span><span class="cs1-maint citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Cite_book" title="Template:Cite book">cite book</a>}}</code>: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (<a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_multiple_names:_authors_list" title="Category:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list">link</a>)</span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Fundamentals-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Fundamentals_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Fundamentals_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFvan_Tilborg2000" class="citation book cs1">van Tilborg, Henk C.A. (2000). <i>Fundamentals of Cryptology</i>. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 3. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7923-8675-2" title="Special:BookSources/0-7923-8675-2"><bdi>0-7923-8675-2</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Fundamentals+of+Cryptology&rft.pages=3&rft.pub=Kluwer+Academic+Publishers&rft.date=2000&rft.isbn=0-7923-8675-2&rft.aulast=van+Tilborg&rft.aufirst=Henk+C.A.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACiphertext" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSchneier2000" class="citation book cs1">Schneier, Bruce (28 August 2000). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/secretsliesdigit00schn/page/90"><i>Secrets & Lies</i></a>. Wiley Computer Publishing Inc. pp. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/secretsliesdigit00schn/page/90">90–91</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-471-25311-1" title="Special:BookSources/0-471-25311-1"><bdi>0-471-25311-1</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Secrets+%26+Lies&rft.pages=90-91&rft.pub=Wiley+Computer+Publishing+Inc&rft.date=2000-08-28&rft.isbn=0-471-25311-1&rft.aulast=Schneier&rft.aufirst=Bruce&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fsecretsliesdigit00schn%2Fpage%2F90&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACiphertext" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/16px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/24px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/32px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" /></a></span> The dictionary definition of <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/ciphertext" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:Special:Search/ciphertext"><i>ciphertext</i></a> at Wiktionary</li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Commons-logo.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/12px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/18px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/24px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></a></span> Media related to <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ciphertexts" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:Ciphertexts">Ciphertexts</a> at Wikimedia Commons</li> <li>Helen Fouché Gaines, “Cryptanalysis”, 1939, Dover. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-486-20097-3" title="Special:BookSources/0-486-20097-3">0-486-20097-3</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/David_Kahn_(writer)" title="David Kahn (writer)">David Kahn</a>, <i>The Codebreakers - The Story of Secret Writing</i> (<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-684-83130-9" title="Special:BookSources/0-684-83130-9">0-684-83130-9</a>) (1967)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Abraham_Sinkov" title="Abraham Sinkov">Abraham Sinkov</a>, <i>Elementary Cryptanalysis: A Mathematical Approach</i>, Mathematical Association of America, 1968. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-88385-622-0" title="Special:BookSources/0-88385-622-0">0-88385-622-0</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-label="Navbox" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Cryptography_navbox" title="Template:Cryptography navbox"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Cryptography_navbox" title="Template talk:Cryptography navbox"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Cryptography_navbox" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Cryptography navbox"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Cryptography" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Cryptography" title="Cryptography">Cryptography</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">General</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_cryptography" title="History of cryptography">History of cryptography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_cryptography" title="Outline of cryptography">Outline of cryptography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Classical_cipher" title="Classical cipher">Classical cipher</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cryptographic_protocol" title="Cryptographic protocol">Cryptographic protocol</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Authentication_protocol" title="Authentication protocol">Authentication protocol</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cryptographic_primitive" title="Cryptographic primitive">Cryptographic primitive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cryptanalysis" title="Cryptanalysis">Cryptanalysis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cryptocurrency" title="Cryptocurrency">Cryptocurrency</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cryptosystem" title="Cryptosystem">Cryptosystem</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cryptographic_nonce" title="Cryptographic nonce">Cryptographic nonce</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cryptovirology" title="Cryptovirology">Cryptovirology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hash_function" title="Hash function">Hash function</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cryptographic_hash_function" title="Cryptographic hash function">Cryptographic hash function</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Key_derivation_function" title="Key derivation function">Key derivation function</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Secure_Hash_Algorithms" title="Secure Hash Algorithms">Secure Hash Algorithms</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Digital_signature" title="Digital signature">Digital signature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kleptography" title="Kleptography">Kleptography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Key_(cryptography)" title="Key (cryptography)">Key (cryptography)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Key_exchange" title="Key exchange">Key exchange</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Key_generator" title="Key generator">Key generator</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Key_schedule" title="Key schedule">Key schedule</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Key_stretching" title="Key stretching">Key stretching</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Keygen" title="Keygen">Keygen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Cryptography_machines" title="Template:Cryptography machines">Machines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cryptojacking_malware" class="mw-redirect" title="Cryptojacking malware">Cryptojacking malware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ransomware" title="Ransomware">Ransomware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Random_number_generation" title="Random number generation">Random number generation</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cryptographically_secure_pseudorandom_number_generator" title="Cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generator">Cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generator</a> (CSPRNG)</li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pseudorandom_noise" title="Pseudorandom noise">Pseudorandom noise</a> (PRN)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Secure_channel" title="Secure channel">Secure channel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Insecure_channel" class="mw-redirect" title="Insecure channel">Insecure channel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Subliminal_channel" title="Subliminal channel">Subliminal channel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Encryption" title="Encryption">Encryption</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Decryption" class="mw-redirect" title="Decryption">Decryption</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/End-to-end_encryption" title="End-to-end encryption">End-to-end encryption</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Harvest_now,_decrypt_later" title="Harvest now, decrypt later">Harvest now, decrypt later</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Information-theoretic_security" title="Information-theoretic security">Information-theoretic security</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plaintext" title="Plaintext">Plaintext</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Codetext" class="mw-redirect" title="Codetext">Codetext</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Ciphertext</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shared_secret" title="Shared secret">Shared secret</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trapdoor_function" title="Trapdoor function">Trapdoor function</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trusted_timestamping" title="Trusted timestamping">Trusted timestamping</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Key-based_routing" title="Key-based routing">Key-based routing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Onion_routing" title="Onion routing">Onion routing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Garlic_routing" title="Garlic routing">Garlic routing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kademlia" title="Kademlia">Kademlia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mix_network" title="Mix network">Mix network</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Mathematics</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cryptographic_hash_function" title="Cryptographic hash function">Cryptographic hash function</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Block_cipher" title="Block cipher">Block cipher</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stream_cipher" title="Stream cipher">Stream cipher</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Symmetric-key_algorithm" title="Symmetric-key algorithm">Symmetric-key algorithm</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Authenticated_encryption" title="Authenticated encryption">Authenticated encryption</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Public-key_cryptography" title="Public-key cryptography">Public-key cryptography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Quantum_key_distribution" title="Quantum key distribution">Quantum key distribution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Quantum_cryptography" title="Quantum cryptography">Quantum cryptography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Post-quantum_cryptography" title="Post-quantum cryptography">Post-quantum cryptography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Message_authentication_code" title="Message authentication code">Message authentication code</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cryptographically_secure_pseudorandom_number_generator" title="Cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generator">Random numbers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Steganography" title="Steganography">Steganography</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/23px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/31px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Category:Cryptography" title="Category:Cryptography">Category</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&oldid=1253800057">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&oldid=1253800057</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Category</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Cryptography" title="Category:Cryptography">Cryptography</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_multiple_names:_authors_list" title="Category:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list">CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_matches_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description matches Wikidata">Short description matches Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Commons_category_link_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Commons category link from Wikidata">Commons category link from Wikidata</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 27 October 2024, at 23:45<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ciphertext&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-mlxnj","wgBackendResponseTime":220,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.333","walltime":"0.515","ppvisitednodes":{"value":1396,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":27544,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":952,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":14,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":5,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":28395,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":1,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 381.544 1 -total"," 41.15% 157.010 2 Template:Navbox"," 28.22% 107.686 1 Template:Reflist"," 25.54% 97.438 1 Template:Cryptography_navbox"," 23.92% 91.255 3 Template:Cite_book"," 16.43% 62.682 1 Template:Short_description"," 10.72% 40.888 1 Template:Commonscat-inline"," 10.65% 40.643 2 Template:Sister-inline"," 9.97% 38.037 2 Template:Pagetype"," 7.09% 27.050 3 Template:ISBN"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.196","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":4353968,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-b8zqw","timestamp":"20241122151020","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Ciphertext","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ciphertext","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q1589480","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q1589480","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2003-01-28T04:47:52Z","dateModified":"2024-10-27T23:45:17Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/8\/8d\/Zimmermann_Telegram.jpeg","headline":"encrypted information"}</script> </body> </html>