ERIC Number: EJ720442
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 13
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0730-8639
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Vigenere Cipher with the TI-83
Hamilton, Michael; Yankosky, Bill
Mathematics and Computer Education, v38 n1 p19-31 Win 2004
Cryptology, the science of secret writing, is a great way to introduce students to different areas of mathematics such as number theory, linear algebra, probability and statistics. Cryptology consists of two branches: cryptography and cryptanalysis. Cryptography is the science of designing techniques for encrypting and decrypting a message. Cryptanalysis is the science of recovering plaintext (the original unencrypted form of a message) from ciphertext (the secret form of the message after encryption) without knowledge of the process used for encryption and decryption. One of the most famous, private-key cryptosystems is the Vigenere Cipher. Encryption and decryption using the Vigenere Cipher was originally described in terms of a table known as the Vigenere Square and a secret keyword. Like many other cryptosystems, it is quite easy to describe this cryptosystem mathematically using basic properties of modular arithmetic. The purpose of this paper is to show students how the TI-83 graphic calculator can perform the computations needed to implement the Vigenere Cipher.
MATYC Journal Inc., P.O. Box 158, Old Bethpage, NY 11804. Tel: 516-822-5475.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A