The Mathematics of Secrets

"The Mathematics of Secrets takes readers on a tour of the mathematics behind cryptography--the science of sending secret messages. Joshua Holden shows how mathematical principles underpin the ways that different codes and ciphers operate, as he focuses on both code making and code breaking. He discusses the majority of ancient and modern ciphers currently known, beginning by looking at substitution ciphers, built by substituting one letter or block of letters for another. Explaining one of the simplest and historically well-known ciphers, the Caesar cipher, Holden establishes the key mathematical idea behind the cipher and discusses how to introduce flexibility and additional notation. He explores polyalphabetic substitution ciphers, transposition ciphers, including one developed by the Spartans, connections between ciphers and computer encryption, stream ciphers, ciphers involving exponentiation, and public-key ciphers, where the methods used to encrypt messages are public knowledge, and yet, intended recipients are still the only ones who are able to read the message. Only basic mathematics up to high school algebra is needed to understand and enjoy the book." -- adapted from jacket flap.