A study of classical cryptographic systems: results of using Arabic as a source language

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Date

2013

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University of New Brunswick

Abstract

Most of the classical cryptographic techniques are pen and paper ciphers and performed either substitution or transposition ciphers. This report studies some classical ciphers systems, analyzes their weaknesses, which allow them to be considered today as breakable ciphers, and applies modern computer methods for attacking such ciphers written in Arabic. The main goal of this report is to consider the results of applying these classical cryptographic techniques, which were based on Latin alphabet, to the Arabic language. The purpose is to see whether or not the irregularities of the Arabic language can significantly challenge these ciphers and their cryptanalytic attacks in order to determine what modifications will have to be made to these attacks to make them applicable to the Arabic language. Therefore, the Arabian-Vigenere application has been designed in order to attack Arabic ciphertexts encrypted using the Vigenere cipher. This report concludes that the Arabic language is vulnerable to classical cryptanalysis despite the fact that these ciphers were not initially based on Arabic.

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