How to encrypt the word "dog"?

How to encrypt the word "dog"? - briefly

To encrypt the word "dog," you can use various methods such as substitution ciphers or encryption algorithms like AES. For simplicity, using a basic Caesar cipher with a shift of 3 would result in the encrypted text "gri."

How to encrypt the word "dog"? - in detail

To encrypt the word "dog," one can employ several methods, each with its own level of security and complexity. Here are two common approaches:

Method 1: Caesar Cipher

The Caesar Cipher is a simple encryption technique where each letter in the plaintext is shifted a certain number of places down or up the alphabet. For instance, if we choose to shift by three places, we get the following encrypted word:

Plaintext: dog Shift: 3 Ciphertext: gps

In this example, 'd' is shifted three places to become 'g', 'o' remains 'o', and 'g' shifts to 's'. This method is straightforward but not highly secure for sensitive information.

Method 2: AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)

For more robust encryption, the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) can be used. AES is a symmetric key encryption algorithm, which means the same key is used for both encryption and decryption. Here’s how you can encrypt "dog" using AES:

  1. Convert the Word to Binary: First, convert each character of the word "dog" into its binary representation.

    • 'd' in ASCII is 100 (binary), so 'd' = 01100100
    • 'o' in ASCII is 111 (binary), so 'o' = 01101111
    • 'g' in ASCII is 103 (binary), so 'g' = 01100111

  2. Pad the Binary String: Ensure the binary string length is a multiple of 128 bits, as required by AES-128. For simplicity, we pad "dog" with zeros to make it 384 bits long:

    • 011001000110111101100111 (384 bits)

  3. Encrypt Using AES: Use an AES encryption tool or library with a chosen key to encrypt the binary string. For example, using Python's pycryptodome library:

    from Crypto.Cipher import AES
from Crypto.Util.Padding import pad
key = b'Sixteen byte key' # AES-128 requires a 16-byte key
cipher = AES.new(key, AES.MODE_ECB)
encrypted = cipher.encrypt(pad(b'011001000110111101100111', 32)) # Pad to 128-bit block size
print(encrypted)

    The output will be a ciphertext binary string, which you can represent in hexadecimal for readability.

Conclusion

While the Caesar Cipher is easy and quick to implement, it offers minimal security. For more secure encryption, AES provides robust protection suitable for sensitive data. Always choose an encryption method based on the level of security required for your specific use case.