Playfair cipher

E694375

cipher classical cipher manual encryption technique polygraphic substitution cipher symmetric-key algorithm

The Playfair cipher is a manual symmetric encryption technique that encrypts pairs of letters using a 5×5 letter grid, historically used for military and diplomatic communications in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

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Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	cipher ⓘ classical cipher ⓘ manual encryption technique ⓘ polygraphic substitution cipher ⓘ symmetric-key algorithm ⓘ
alphabetSize	25 letters ⓘ
category	classical symmetric ciphers ⓘ
centuryOfOrigin	19th century ⓘ
countryOfEarlyUse	British Empire NERFINISHED ⓘ United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ
decryptionRule	same column letters are replaced by letters above ⓘ same row letters are replaced by letters to their left ⓘ
encryptionRule	rectangle letters are replaced by letters in same row at opposite corners ⓘ same column letters are replaced by letters below ⓘ same row letters are replaced by letters to their right ⓘ
encryptionType	symmetric ⓘ
excludesLetter	J ⓘ
historicalSignificance	first practical digraph substitution cipher widely used by a nation-state ⓘ
historicalUsePeriod	early 20th century ⓘ late 19th century ⓘ
inventedBy	Charles Wheatstone NERFINISHED ⓘ
mergesLetters	I and J ⓘ
namedAfter	Lyon Playfair NERFINISHED ⓘ
notSuitableFor	modern secure communications ⓘ
operatesOn	digrams ⓘ pairs of letters ⓘ
plaintextPreprocessing	insert filler letters between repeated letters in a digram ⓘ pad final single letter with filler ⓘ split into digrams ⓘ
relatedTo	Hill cipher NERFINISHED ⓘ Vigenère cipher NERFINISHED ⓘ polygraphic substitution ⓘ
requires	plaintext preprocessing ⓘ
securityLevel	stronger than simple monoalphabetic substitution ⓘ
taughtIn	classical cryptography ⓘ introductory cryptography courses ⓘ
typicalFillerLetter	X ⓘ
usedIn	diplomatic communications ⓘ military communications ⓘ
uses	5×5 letter grid ⓘ key table ⓘ keyword ⓘ
vulnerableTo	ciphertext-only attack with digram frequency analysis ⓘ known-plaintext attack ⓘ modern computational cryptanalysis ⓘ
yearProposed	1854 ⓘ

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Charles Wheatstone (historical) → notableWork → Playfair cipher ⓘ

subject surface form: Charles Wheatstone