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Decrypting classical cipher text using Markov chain Monte Carlo

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Abstract

We investigate the use of Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods to attack classical ciphers. MCMC has previously been used to break simple substitution ciphers. Here, we extend this approach to transposition ciphers and to substitution-plus-transposition ciphers. Our algorithms run quickly and perform fairly well even for key lengths as high as 40.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Statistics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Jian Chen & Jeffrey S. Rosenthal

Authors
  1. Jian Chen
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  2. Jeffrey S. Rosenthal
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Correspondence to Jeffrey S. Rosenthal.

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Supported in part by NSERC of Canada.

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Chen, J., Rosenthal, J.S. Decrypting classical cipher text using Markov chain Monte Carlo. Stat Comput 22, 397–413 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11222-011-9232-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11222-011-9232-5

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