Ciphers are an important part of history. Politicians, military leaders, and even regular civilians sending love letters to one another used to create codes to keep their privacy, secrets, and information. But what are some of the most famous ciphers that have shaped history?
5. Scytale
The Scytale is by far one of the most famous ciphers that shaped history. The Spartans used this to send encrypted messages over long distances. The Scytale was a wooden rod that could be wound with parchment strips on which a message was written. When unqound, the message was non-legible. When would back into a scytale of the same circumference, the message would be revealed.
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4. Navajo Code Talkers
During World War II, the Marine Corps sought to create an unbreakable code. They decided to base it on the complex, unwritten language only known to a small population: Navajo. They hired 29 Navajo members to create this code and were involved in every Marine operation in the Pacific Theater. The code helped with victories against the Japanese, like the Battle of Iwo Jima.
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3. Caesar Cipher
Next up is the Caesar Cipher, which involves shifting each letter of a message by a set number of letters. Hence the name, Roman General Gaius Julius Caesar used this method in correspondence with friends back in Rome while he was campaigning in Gaul.
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2. The Enigma Code
If you’re familiar with the famous 2014 movie The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch, you’re probably familiar with The Enigma Code. The machine is one of the most powerful tools in World War II history. Invented in 1918 by Arthur Scherbius to encrypt business information, it became infamous for sending confidential communication. The machine had a series of scrambler disks with 26 letters of the alphabet, but the code and encryption changed every 24 hours so that it was virtually unbreakable.
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1. Morse Code
Probably the most famous and well-known cipher in history is Morse code, which is still used today. The invention of the telegraph was in the early 19th century, which permitted messages to be sent over long distances. Samuel Morse, the inventor of the code, used this system where dots and dashes replaced numbers and letters. Telegraph clerks translated messages for clients in Morse Code and sent them out over telegraph wires to stations where they would be reconverted into text.
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