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Milestones in Cryptography

Cryptography

A challenging look at the history, inventions, and foundational breakthroughs in the science of secret writing.

history science mathematics

8 Questions Hard Ages 15+ Oct 28, 2026

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About this Study Set

This study set covers Cryptography through 8 practice questions. A challenging look at the history, inventions, and foundational breakthroughs in the science of secret writing. Every question includes the correct answer so you can learn as you go — pick any format above to get started.

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1 Which ancient Greek device, consisting of a cylinder and a strip of parchment, is considered the earliest known military transposition cipher?

A Scytale
B Tabula Recta
C Atbash
D Polybius Square

2 Who is credited with the first published description of a polyalphabetic cipher in his 1467 work 'De Componendis Cyfris', earning the title 'the father of Western cryptology'?

A Giovan Battista Bellaso
B Leon Battista Alberti
C Blaise de Vigenère
D Johannes Trithemius

3 The 'Zimmermann Telegram', which influenced the United States' entry into World War I, was intercepted and decrypted by which British intelligence organization?

A MI6
B Government Code and Cypher School
C Room 40
D The Black Chamber

4 What was the primary cryptographic weakness exploited by Alan Turing and the Bletchley Park team to break the Enigma machine's daily settings?

A Frequency analysis of vowels
B The mandatory inclusion of a 'crib' or known plaintext
C The mechanical wear on the rotors
D The use of the same plugboard setting for an entire month

5 In 1977, the Data Encryption Standard (DES) was published by the NBS. Which company originally developed the algorithm under the name 'Lucifer'?

A IBM
B Bell Labs
C Motorola
D Intel

6 Which Renaissance-era cryptographer authored 'Steganographia', a work that disguised secret messages within mundane text using occult themes?

A Giambattista della Porta
B Johannes Trithemius
C Blaise de Vigenère
D Leon Battista Alberti

7 Before the advent of modern computers, what was the first fully automated, electromechanical rotor machine used for commercial encryption in the 1920s?

A Hebern Rotor Machine
B SIGABA
C Typex
D Purple

8 What is the significance of the 1976 paper 'New Directions in Cryptography' by Diffie and Hellman?

A It invented the first quantum key distribution protocol
B It introduced the concept of public-key cryptography
C It proved that the One-Time Pad was unbreakable
D It established the first international standard for AES

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