Communication Theory of Secrecy Systems

Communication Theory of Secrecy Systems is a paper published in 1949 by Claude Shannon discussing cryptography from the viewpoint of information theory. It is one of the foundational treatments (arguably the foundational treatment) of modern cryptography. It is also a proof that all theoretically unbreakable ciphers must have the same requirements as the one-time pad.

Shannon published an earlier version of this research in the classified report A Mathematical Theory of Cryptography, Memorandum MM 45-110-02, Sept. 1, 1945, Bell Laboratories.^[1][2] This classified report also precedes the publication of his "A Mathematical Theory of Communication", which appeared in 1948.

See also

• Confusion and diffusion
• Product cipher
• One-time pad

References

• Shannon, Claude. "Communication Theory of Secrecy Systems", Bell System Technical Journal, vol. 28(4), page 656–715, 1949.

Notes

1. ↑ Bibliography of Claude Elwood Shannon
2. ↑ Shannon, "Communication Theory of Secrecy Systems," p. 656.

External links

• Online retyped copy of the paper
• Scanned version of the published BSTJ paper