Cryptography is the basic technology for writing codes and decoding to protect communication security. It is also one of the important factors that make modern cryptocurrencies and blockchain possible. However, today's encryption technology is the result of this development. Since ancient times, humans have used encryption to ensure the security of transmitted information. The following articles will provide an in-depth look at the fascinating history of cryptography, as well as the advancements in modern digital encryption.

The long-lasting roots of cryptography

As we all know, primitive encryption technology dates back to ancient times Already, most early civilizations appear to have used cryptography to some extent. Symbol substitution is the most basic form of esotericism, which appeared as early as in the writings of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The earliest known precedent for this type of cryptography was found in the tomb of an Egyptian nobleman named Khnumhotep II, who lived approximately 3,900 years ago.

The purpose of symbol substitution in the tomb of Knhumhotep was not to hide the message, but to enhance the attractiveness of its message. The earliest cryptography was used to protect sensitive information. It happened about 3,500 years ago when a scribe in Mesopotamia used cryptography to hide the recipe for a pottery glaze for clay tablets.

But in later ancient times, cryptography was widely used to protect important military information, a purpose that still exists today. In the Greek city of Sparta, encrypted messages were written on parchment on cylinders of a specific size, making the message unreadable until the recipient wrapped it around a similar cylinder. Likewise, spies in ancient India had used coded messaging as early as the 2nd century BC.

Perhaps the most advanced cryptography in the ancient world was implemented by the Romans. One of the notable examples of cryptography in Roman history was the Caesar cipher, which involved moving the letters of an encrypted message to certain positions in the Latin alphabet. Only the recipient who knows this system and moves the letters into certain places can successfully interpret the message, otherwise it would be difficult for others to recognize and interpret the message.

Developments in the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Throughout the Middle Ages, cryptography changed has become increasingly important, and the Caesar cipher remains the cryptographic standard in all code formats. Cryptoanalysis, the science used to break codes and encryption, is beginning to catch up with the relatively primitive science of cryptography. The famous Arab mathematician Al-Kindi, around 800 AD, developed a technique called frequency analysis to make codes easier to decipher. For the first time in human history, there is such a systematic method of decoding attempts, which makes cryptography must be further strengthened and advanced to maintain its functionality.

In 1465, Leone Alberti developed polyalphabetic decoding, a technology considered to be in opposition to Al-Kindi's solution of frequency analysis. In polyalphabetic decoding technology, two different alphabets are used to encode information. One is the alphabet in which the original message was written, while the second is an entirely different alphabet in which the message appears after encoding. Combined with traditional codes, multi-letter codes greatly increase the security of encoded information. Unless the reader knows the alphabet in which the message was originally written, frequency analysis techniques will be completely useless at this interpretation.

The Renaissance also developed different new methods of encoding information, including a popular early binary encoding method invented by the famous polymath Francis Bacon in 1623.

Centuries of Progress

Cryptographic technology has evolved over the centuries land development. Thomas Jefferson, in the late 17th century, published a description of a major breakthrough in cryptography, but the theory was not actually established at the time. His publication, called the Encryption Wheel, consisted of 36 letter rings on a moving wheel and could be used to achieve complex encodings. The concept was so advanced that it served as the basis for American military coding by the end of World War II.

World War II also saw a perfect example of pseudo-encryption technology, called the Enigma machine. Like the encryption wheel, this device powered by Axis Power uses a rotating encryption wheel to write messages, making it nearly impossible to decipher the message without it being deciphered by other Enigma machines. Early computer computing technology was eventually used to help break Enigma's code, and the successful interpretation of Enigma's confidential information is still considered a key to the final Allied victory.

Cryptozoology in the computer age

With the rise of computers, cryptography Becoming more advanced than previous eras. The 128-digit encryption code is far stronger than any ancient or medieval encryption technology and has become the standard setting for many sensitive devices and computer systems. Beginning in the early 1990s, computer scientists were comprehensively developing a new form of encryption called quantum cryptography, hoping to once again improve modern encryption technology and provide a higher level of protection.

Recently, encryption technology has also been applied to cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies utilize several advanced cryptographic techniques, including hash functions, public key encryption, and digital signatures. These technologies are mainly used to ensure the security of data stored on the blockchain and its verification of transaction transactions. A special form of cryptography, called Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA), technology underpins Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency systems as a way to provide additional security and ensure that funds can only be used by their rightful owners.

Cryptozoology has come a long way over the past 4,000 years, and it's unlikely to stop. As long as there is sensitive data that needs to be protected, cryptography will continue to evolve. Although the encryption system used in today's cryptocurrencies in the blockchain has become the most advanced representative of today's science, it also extends back to an important part of human history.