Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM)

Abstract

The National Security Agency (NSA) has a well-established history in cryptology, the art and science of code-breaking and code-making. This talk will give a brief overview of the NSA, along with some insight into the work of mathematicians at the agency. We will then define some components of a cipher system and work through multiple examples of ciphers utilized throughout history, including the Polybius square, the ADFGX cipher, the Caesar cipher, the Baconian cipher, the rail fence cipher, the route cipher, and the monome-dinome cipher.