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diff --git a/content/projects/python-encryption/index.md b/content/projects/python-encryption/index.md index 95bd3a1..3ed831b 100644 --- a/content/projects/python-encryption/index.md +++ b/content/projects/python-encryption/index.md @@ -10,20 +10,34 @@ During my last year of highschool, I designed my very own text encryption algorithm. I wrote software in python to encode and decode text using a custom algorithm I made to understand core concepts in information theory. -I was tasked in the context of one of my classes to carry a project of my -choosing. This class' goal was mainly to teach students about managing long -term project when it comes to deadlines, research and organisation. The project -itself however, didn't matter and could be whatever you dreamed about. - -A student wrote a recipe book, another built a potato gun. When it came my turn -to pick, I decided I wanted to do something related to software development and -math: A text encryption software utilizing a custom algorithm that I had made. -Let's be real, the algorithm itself isn't good by any stretch of the -imagination, but it did force me to understand core concepts of information theory, -be creative, and develop code where I couldn't rely on libraries with pre-made -encryption libraries. - +The class in which I did this was designed to teach students about managing +long term projects. People could tackle projects related to just about +anything. One person wrote and printed a recipe books, another built a small +soap box cart, someone even built a potato canon. When it came my turn to +choose, I decided to do something related to programming where I could learn +things a bit more abstract along the way. + +During the research phase of this endeavour, I learned about classic +cryptography stories such as the ceasar cypher, enigma, symetric and asymetric +key exchanges. Realizing that some encryption methods could be broken through +easy non-bruteforce approaches intrigued me. I therefore settled to attempt a +message encoding method which would be more secure than something such as a +ceasar cypher. I wanted to build my own algorithm and this is what I came up +with: + +My initial realization was the reality that information can be represented +through a variety of methods. An image can be stored as one huge integer in +binary form. Text, encoded in ASCII, was just a list of 255 symbols. When +viewed from that perspective, an entire article could be thought of as one big +integer in base255. I decided to start by converting the source message one +might want to encrypt into decimal form as shown by this animation:  +The thing is, if a message can be converted from base255 to decimal, so can +the password protecting the original message. You would then have both the message +and the password in a format that feels much more intuitive to manipulate. +So this is what I did: +  + |