Friedrich Wilhelm Kasiski
Friedrich Wilhelm Kasiski (born November 29, 1805 in Schlochau , West Prussia , † May 22, 1881 in Neustettin ) was a Prussian infantry major and, as a cryptanalyst, contributed significantly to breaking the Vigenère cipher .
Kasiski published a test for the cryptanalysis of the Vigenère cipher, which is still known today as the Kasiski test , in his book The Secret Scripts and the Dechiffrir Art . The method Kasiski used was able to determine the keyword length of this cipher. To do this, he searched the ciphertext for repeating sequences of letters (Dopplers) . From the distances between these letter sequences, he then calculated the greatest common factor , which then gives the assumed key length. Despite its simplicity, the Kasiski test is very effective at deciphering texts that are encrypted with the Vigenère cipher .
A few years earlier, Charles Babbage had already developed a method to filter out the key from Vigenère-ciphered texts. However, he had not published his findings, so that his notes were only viewed after his death.
From 1866 Kasiski built up a collection of antiquities from the Neustettin area, which was the basis of the Neustettin Historical Museum, which opened in 1914.
Works
- Secret scripts and the art of deciphering . Berlin 1863, digitized
- The burial ground at the Persanziger Mühle. With a sketch of the burial ground . Danzig 1872.
- Report on the investigations of antiquities in Pomerania, which were continued in 1872 . Danzig 1873.
- Description of the patriotic antiquities in the Neustettiner and Schlochau districts . Bertling, Danzig 1881.
literature
- David Kahn: Kasiski, Friedrich W .. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 11, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1977, ISBN 3-428-00192-3 , p. 317 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Hermann Hinz : Slavic castle wall island in Lake Persanzig. On the problem of the so-called pile dwellings from FW Kasiski's excavations . In: Baltic Studies, NF 73 (1987), pp. 7-17.
Remarks
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kasiski, Friedrich Wilhelm |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prussian infantry major and, as a cryptographer, contributed significantly to the decryption of the Vigenère cipher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 29, 1805 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Schlochau , West Prussia |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 22, 1881 |
| Place of death | Neustettin |