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Caesar Cipher
Last Updated: January 13, 2017
Definition - What does Caesar Cipher mean?
A Caesar cipher is one of the simplest and most well-known encryption techniques.
Named after Julius Caesar, it is one of the oldest types of ciphers and is based on the simplest monoalphabetic cipher. It is considered a weak method of cryptography, as it is easy to decode the message owing to its minimum security techniques.
For the same reason, a Caesar cipher is often incorporated only in parts of other complex encryption schemes.
Techopedia explains Caesar Cipher
In cryptography, a Caesar cipher is categorized as a substitution cipher in which the alphabet in the plain text is shifted by a fixed number down the alphabet.
Advantages of using a Caesar cipher include:
- One of the easiest methods to use in cryptography and can provide minimum security to the information
- Use of only a short key in the entire process
- One of the best methods to use if the system cannot use any complicated coding techniques
- Requires few computing resources
Disadvantages of using a Caesar cipher include:
- Simple structure usage
- Can only provide minimum security to the information
- Frequency of the letter pattern provides a big clue in deciphering the entire message
