Breaking Historical Ciphers with Modern Algorithms

Explore the fascinating world of historical cryptography in this 58-minute conference talk from 44CON 2017. Delve into the challenges of breaking old encryption methods using modern algorithms, from 18th-century Turning Grills to World War II Enigma messages. Discover how recent advancements have led to the decryption of various historical ciphers, including ADFGVX ciphertexts from World War I, bigram substitutions, cipher slide messages, and double column transpositions. Learn about ongoing research in the field and the surprising number of historical encryption methods that remain unbroken, such as short Enigma messages and complex Cold War ciphers. Gain insights into the evolving landscape of cryptanalysis and the potential for future breakthroughs in deciphering historical secrets.