cryptanalysis
The study of a cryptographic system for the purpose of finding weaknesses in the system and breaking the code used to encrypt the data without knowing the code��s key. There are 4 basic steps in a typical cryptanalysis:
- Determine the language being used
- Determine the system being used �� this can be a time-consuming stage in the process and involves counting character frequency, searching for repeated patterns and performing statistical tests.
- Reconstruct the system��s specific keys
- Reconstruction of the plain text �� this step typically takes place at the same time as the keys are reconstructed.


