Caesar Cipher

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