Hill cipher - two plaintext pairs encrypt to same ciphertext

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In summary, to find two plaintext pairs that encrypt to the same ciphertext using the given key, you can use equations to manipulate the values of the plaintext pairs and ciphertext. However, be careful with division and make sure to cancel common factors in both the equation and the base.
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LANS
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Homework Statement



Given the following key, find two plaintext pairs that encrypt to the same ciphertext.

[itex]\begin{pmatrix}
9 & 5 \\
7 & 3 \\
\end{pmatrix} (mod \ 26)
[/itex]

Homework Equations



The Attempt at a Solution



Let the two plaintext pairs be (a, b) and (c, d). Let the ciphertext be (X, Y)

9a + 7b = X mod 26
9c + 7d = X mod 26
5a +3b = Y mod 26
5c + 3d = Y mod 26


I'm not sure where to go from here. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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  • #2
You can add and subtract equations, and multiply by factors, in the usual way. The thing you have to be careful with is division. You can divide by any number that's prime to the base, 26, but it can be tricky working out the answer. E.g. 5/3 will be 19, because 5 = 5+2*26 = 57 (mod 26).
You can also cancel common factors that are shared with the base provided you cancel out in the base too:
4a + 6b = 8c (mod 26) implies
2a + 3b = 4c (mod 13)
 

FAQ: Hill cipher - two plaintext pairs encrypt to same ciphertext

1. What is the Hill cipher?

The Hill cipher is a cryptographic algorithm used for encrypting and decrypting text. It uses linear algebra to transform plaintext into ciphertext and vice versa.

2. How does the Hill cipher work?

The Hill cipher works by breaking the plaintext into blocks of letters and applying a mathematical transformation using a matrix. This process is repeated for each block until the entire message is encrypted.

3. What is the significance of two plaintext pairs encrypting to the same ciphertext?

If two different plaintext pairs result in the same ciphertext, it indicates a weakness in the Hill cipher. This means that an attacker could potentially decrypt the ciphertext and obtain the original message without knowing the encryption key.

4. Can the Hill cipher be used for secure communication?

While the Hill cipher was once considered secure, it has since been proven to have vulnerabilities. Therefore, it is not recommended to use the Hill cipher for secure communication.

5. What are some alternative encryption methods to the Hill cipher?

Some alternative encryption methods to the Hill cipher include the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman), and the Diffie-Hellman key exchange. These methods have been extensively studied and are considered more secure than the Hill cipher.

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