6533b85efe1ef96bd12c0529

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Kasiski's Test: Couldn't the Repetitions be by Accident?

Klaus Pommerening

subject

Accident (fallacy)Repetition (rhetorical device)Applied MathematicsAccidentalCiphertextStatisticsArithmeticBirthday problemComputer Science ApplicationsMathematicsTest (assessment)

description

Abstract In searching for repetitions in a periodic polyalphabetic ciphertext, we usually find several true (causal) repetitions that give information about the period. But we also find some accidental repetitions at distances unrelated to the period which may mislead the cryptanalyst. A simple formula shows that these accidents are rather unlikely.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01611190600803819