Auguste Kerckhoffs
Encyclopedia
Auguste Kerckhoffs was a Dutch linguist
and cryptographer who was professor
of languages at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales in Paris in the late 19th century.
Kerckhoffs was born in Nuth
, the Netherlands, as Jean Guillaume Auguste Victor François Hubert Kerckhoffs, son of Jean Guillaume Kerckhoffs, mayor of the village of Nuth, and Jeanette Elisabeth Lintjens, although he later shortened his name. Kerckhoffs studied at the University of Liège
. After a period of teaching in schools in the Netherlands and France, he became a professor of German at the Parisian École des Hautes Études Commerciales and the École Arago.
He is best known today for a series of two essays he published in 1883 in le Journal des Sciences Militaires (Journal of Military Science) entitled La Cryptographie Militaire (Military Cryptography). These articles surveyed the then state-of-the-art in military cryptography, and made a plea for considerable improvements in French practice. They also included many pieces of practical advice and rules of thumb
, including six principles of practical cipher design:
The best-known is the second of his six principles, also known as Kerckhoffs' principle
. It can be understood as the idea that the security of a cryptosystem must depend only on the key
, and not on the secrecy of any other part of the system.
Volapük
, and for several years was a leading member of the Volapük movement, and Director of the Academy of Volapük. He published several books on the subject and introduced the movement to France, Spain, and Scandinavia
through a series of public lectures.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and cryptographer who was professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of languages at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales in Paris in the late 19th century.
Kerckhoffs was born in Nuth
Nuth
Nuth is a municipality and a village in the Dutch province of Limburg, situated in the southern Netherlands.The village Nuth has 5,548 inhabitants, and is with that the largest village of the municipality. The town hall of the municipality Nuth is also situated in the village Nuth...
, the Netherlands, as Jean Guillaume Auguste Victor François Hubert Kerckhoffs, son of Jean Guillaume Kerckhoffs, mayor of the village of Nuth, and Jeanette Elisabeth Lintjens, although he later shortened his name. Kerckhoffs studied at the University of Liège
University of Liège
The University of Liège , in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium, is a major public university in the French Community of Belgium. Its official language is French.-History:...
. After a period of teaching in schools in the Netherlands and France, he became a professor of German at the Parisian École des Hautes Études Commerciales and the École Arago.
He is best known today for a series of two essays he published in 1883 in le Journal des Sciences Militaires (Journal of Military Science) entitled La Cryptographie Militaire (Military Cryptography). These articles surveyed the then state-of-the-art in military cryptography, and made a plea for considerable improvements in French practice. They also included many pieces of practical advice and rules of thumb
Rule of thumb
A rule of thumb is a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation. It is an easily learned and easily applied procedure for approximately calculating or recalling some value, or for making some determination...
, including six principles of practical cipher design:
- The system should be, if not theoretically unbreakable, unbreakable in practice.
- The design of a system should not require secrecy and compromise of the system should not inconvenience the correspondents (Kerckhoffs' principleKerckhoffs' principleIn cryptography, Kerckhoffs's principle was stated by Auguste Kerckhoffs in the 19th century: A cryptosystem should be secure even if everything about the system, except the key, is public knowledge.Kerckhoffs's principle was reformulated by Claude Shannon as...
). - The key should be memorable without notes and should be easily changeable
- The cryptograms should be transmittable by telegraph
- The apparatus or documents should be portable and operable by a single person
- The system should be easy, neither requiring knowledge of a long list of rules nor involving mental strain
The best-known is the second of his six principles, also known as Kerckhoffs' principle
Kerckhoffs' principle
In cryptography, Kerckhoffs's principle was stated by Auguste Kerckhoffs in the 19th century: A cryptosystem should be secure even if everything about the system, except the key, is public knowledge.Kerckhoffs's principle was reformulated by Claude Shannon as...
. It can be understood as the idea that the security of a cryptosystem must depend only on the key
Key (cryptography)
In cryptography, a key is a piece of information that determines the functional output of a cryptographic algorithm or cipher. Without a key, the algorithm would produce no useful result. In encryption, a key specifies the particular transformation of plaintext into ciphertext, or vice versa...
, and not on the secrecy of any other part of the system.
Volapük
In 1885, Dr. Kerckhoffs became interested in the constructed languageConstructed language
A planned or constructed language—known colloquially as a conlang—is a language whose phonology, grammar, and/or vocabulary has been consciously devised by an individual or group, instead of having evolved naturally...
Volapük
Volapük
Volapük is a constructed language, created in 1879–1880 by Johann Martin Schleyer, a Roman Catholic priest in Baden, Germany. Schleyer felt that God had told him in a dream to create an international language. Volapük conventions took place in 1884 , 1887 and 1889 . The first two conventions used...
, and for several years was a leading member of the Volapük movement, and Director of the Academy of Volapük. He published several books on the subject and introduced the movement to France, Spain, and Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
through a series of public lectures.
External links
- La Cryptographie Militaire — French original and translations into English
- Electronic Birth Record of Auguste Kerckhoffs