Cipher and Cryptogram: What is the Difference?
Spoiler: Cipher and Cryptogram Aren't the Same Thing
"Isn't a cryptogram just a fancy word for cipher?"
That's exactly what I thought. Of course, that was before I did my own research on Google and educated myself on the topic (as many chronically online people do).
You might have seen both words used interchangeably on the internet to describe the subject of Cryptography. Perhaps it made you confused—like me. Or maybe not? If not, you're a genius.
Here's what I learned: a cryptogram is the puzzle itself—a piece of encrypted text you're trying to crack. A cipher is the method used to encrypt or decrypt it. So something like the Pigpen cipher or the Polybius square is a tool. The cryptogram is what you get once you actually apply that tool to a message.
Tool, meet puzzle. Puzzle, meet tool. Now you know.
This distinction (eventually) gave me the idea to create the widely successful, free online cryptogram word puzzle— Tempo's Alphabet.
For ages, human beings have gone to great efforts to find ways to share secret messages with each other. Since the moment we first learned how to communicate, we humans have felt the need to keep some things secret from others. Thus the creation of both ciphers and cryptograms—to encode and share our secret messages with only our most trusted confidantes.
Ciphers haven't just lived on paper, either. Composers like Bach and Brahms found ways to hide names and messages inside musical notes themselves—proof that the impulse to encode secrets shows up in more places than you'd expect. (I go deeper on that in "Decoding Cryptograms in Musical Compositions.")
Here are just a couple of classic ciphers you'll typically find when you first start Googling about ciphers online. Both are very popular, and also very old.
(To be perfectly honest, I was too lazy to provide you with more examples, other than the two below.)
If you'd like to dig deeper into cipher types beyond the basics, please go to the ACA (American Cryptogram Association) website. Those guys and gals are super smart. And they've put together a phenomenal list of ciphers, just for you.
1. Pigpen Cipher
While the exact origin of the Pigpen cipher is unknown, the earliest examples include uses by Freemasons and Union prisoners captured during the Civil War. Although the Pigpen cipher is over 150 years old, it's still not a piece of cake to use. Seriously.
Use the Pigpen cipher to decrypt this message:
2. Polybius Square Cipher
Ah, this one looks familiar, right? (See what I did there?)
The Polybius Square cipher is named after its inventor—Polybius. Not as catchy as Pigpen. Polybius was a Greek historian who lived a very long time ago—in the 2nd century B.C.E.
Yet his cipher is still used today. That is how influential Polybius' cipher still is in the cryptography community. Or at least in my puzzles.
Keep looking at the picture above (or below). The English alphabet characters are arranged in rows and columns—both numbered.
For example, the letter "A" is encoded as 11. The letter "B" is encoded as 12. The letter "C" is encoded as 13. You get the message.
Now, try to decrypt this one:
So, there you have it. Now, go back to playing my widely successful cryptogram puzzle instead of reading this blog.
Bye for now!
