- Friedrich Kasiski
Major Friedrich Wilhelm Kasiski (29 November 1805–22 May 1881) was aPrussia ninfantry officer,cryptographer andarcheologist . Kasiski was born in Schlochau,West Prussia (nowCzłuchów ,Poland ).Military service
Kasiski enlisted in
East Prussia 's 33rd InfantryRegiment on 20 March, 1823 at the age of 17. In May 1824, he was promoted to the rank ofMaster Sergeant , and eight months later was commissioned as aSecond Lieutenant in February 1825. It took fourteen years to earn his next promotion when, in May 1839, he advanced to the rank ofFirst Lieutenant . His next advancement was quicker, promoted toCaptain in November 1842. Kasiski finally retired from active service with the rank of Major on 17 February 1852.Between 1860 and 1868 he was the commander of a National Guard
battalion .Cryptography
In 1863, Kasiski published a 95-page book on
cryptography , "Die Geheimschriften und die Dechiffrierkunst" (German, "Secret writing and the Art of Deciphering"). This was the first published account of a procedure for attackingpolyalphabetic substitution ciphers, especially theVigenère cipher (although it is possibleCharles Babbage was already aware of a similar method but had kept it secret). The method relied on the analysis of gaps between repeated fragments in theciphertext ; such analysis can give hints as to the length of the key used. This technique is known asKasiski examination .The significance of Kasiski's cryptanalytic work was not widely realised at the time, and he turned his mind to
archaeology instead. The later years of his life were spent at Neustettin (Szczecinek ); the 11th edition ofEncyclopædia Britannica cited a scholarly article by Kasiski in its entry on the town.Historian David Kahn notes, "Kasiski died on May 22, 1881, almost certainly without realizing that he had wrought a revolution in cryptology" ("The Codebreakers ").References
*
David Kahn , "The Codebreakers - The Story of Secret Writing", revised ed, Scribner, 1996. pp207–209.
* M. W. Bowers (pseudonym "Zembie"), "Major F. W. Kasiski — Cryptologist", "The Cryptogram", Vol. XXXI(3) (January-February 1964) pp 53,58-59.See also
*
List of cryptographers
*Topics in cryptography
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