Intelligent Techniques in Cryptanalysis: Review and Future Directions

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the use of some intelligent techniques such as artificial neural networks (ANNs) and genetic algorithms (GAs) in solving various cryptanalysis problems. We review various applications of these techniques in different cryptanalysis areas. An emphasis is given to the use of GAs in cryptanalysis of classical ciphers. Another important cryptanalysis issue to be considered is cipher type detection or identification. This can be a real obstacle to cryptanalysts, and it is a basic step for any automated cryptanalysis system. We specifically report on the possible future research direction of using spiking ANNs for cipher type identification and some other cryptanalysis tasks.

Index Terms: Artificial Neural Networks, Cipher Identification, Classical Ciphers, Cryptanalysis, Genetic Algorithms