Cryptography And the Use of Matrices to

Encrypt and Decrypt a Message.

Name: Abdud Dayyaan Mathee

Student Number: 4263262

Date of Submission: 25 September 2023

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................1
Game Show..............................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Method of Encryption............................................................................................................1
Instructions.............................................................................................................................2
Method of Decryption............................................................................................................2
Appendixes.................................................................................................................................4
Letter-to-number Conversion Table.......................................................................................4
Encoded Password.................................................................................................................4
Key Matrix.............................................................................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................5
Introduction
The process of hiding and coding information is known as cryptography. The Hill algorithm,
eponymous to mathematics professor, Lester Hill, is a method of encryption using matrix
multiplication and matrix inverses. Lester Hill pioneered the use of mathematical methods in
encryption during his involvement in the military in the early 1920s.

Professor Hill created a mechanical encryption machine which used gears and levers to
encode and decode messages. Letters were arbitrarily assigned to numbers and were encoded
into a machine by using an encryption key. If messages were exchanged between military
personnel, it was imperative for the encryption key to be kept confidential, such that the
content of those messages could never be decoded by a potential interceptor.

Mathematics Competition
For the final challenge of a mathematics competition, a safe with a million rand stands
between two contestants. Each contestant receives the same set of matrices, which can be
decoded to find the password for the safe. The first contestant to crack the code will gain
access to the safe and win the prize money. The two finalists are given a key matrix and eight
encoded matrices as a guide.
Method of Encryption

 Letters of the alphabet were assigned numerical values in order of their occurrence.
 A key matrix “M” was created as an encryption tool.
 M= [ ]
5 2
3 2
 Using the Letter-to-number Conversion Table, a set of numbers corresponding to the
actual password was obtained.
 TAKE YOUR PRIZE! = 20, 1, 11, 5, 27, 25, 15, 21, 18, 27, 16, 18, 9, 26, 5, 27
 2x1 matrices were created from the set of numbers above, in pairs of consecutive 2s.
 A= [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
20
1
;B=
11
5
;C=
27
25
;D=
15
21
;E=
18
27
;F=
16
18
;G=
9
26
;H=
5
27
 Each 2x1 matrix was then multiplied by the key matrix. The matrices obtained after
multiplication is the Encoded Password for the safe.

1
Instructions

Use your knowledge of matrix inversion and multiplication to crack the code.

1. Invert the key matrix.

2. Multiply the eight encoded matrices by the inverted matrix.
3. Use the obtained values to find the corresponding letters in the given conversion table.
4. The letters you have obtained is the code you need to access the safe.
5. Submit the correct code before your opponent to secure your prize.
Method of Decryption

Step 1

[ ]
1 −1
M-1 =
1
10−6 −3 5[
2 −2
=
2
−3 ] 2
5
4 4

Step 2

[ ]
1 −1
M-1. MA =
2
−3
2
5 [ 102
62 ]
= [ 1]
20
=A

4 4

[ ][ ] [ ]
1 −1
2 2 65 11
M-1. MB = = =B
−3 5 43 5
4 4

[ ][ ] [ ]
1 −1
2 2 185 27
M-1. MC = = =C
−3 5 131 25
4 4

[ ][ ] [ ]
1 −1
2 2 117 15
M-1. MD = = =D
−3 5 84 21
4 4

[ ][ ] [ ]
1 −1
2 2 144 18
M-1. ME = = =E
−3 5 108 27
4 4

2
 [ ][ ] [ ]
1 −1
2 2 116 16
M-1. MF = = =F
−3 5 84 18
4 4

[ ][ ] [ ]
1 −1
2 2 97 9
M-1. MG = = =G
−3 5 79 26
4 4

[ ][ ] [ ]
1 −1
2 2 79 5
M-1. MH = = =H
−3 5 69 27
4 4

Step 3

[ 201 ] = [ TA ]
[ 115] = [ KE ]
[ 2725 ] = [Y¿ ]
[ 1521] = [ OU ]
[ 1827 ] = [ R¿ ]
[ 1618] = [ PR ]
[ 269 ] = [ ZI ]
[ 275 ] = [ E¿ ]
Step 4
TAKE YOUR PRIZE!
Step 5
Congratulations, you win R1 000 000 in cash!

3
 Appendixes
Letter-to-number Conversion Table

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z *

1 1 1 2 2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 15 16 18 19 21 22 23 25 26 27
2 4 7 0 4

(*) character represents any additional character.

Key Matrix

M= [ 53 22]
Created Matrices

A= [ 201]; B = [ 115]; C = [ 2725]; D = [ 1521]; E = [ 1827 ]; F = [ 1618]; G = [ 269 ]; H = [ 275 ]

Encoded Password

MA = [ 102
62 ]

MB = [ ]
65
43

MC = [
131 ]
185

MD = [
87 ]
117

ME = [
108 ]
144

MF = [
84 ]
116

MG = [ ]
97
79

MH = [ ]
79
69

4
References
Bloom, R. S. (2022, July 17). Mathematics. Retrieved from LibreTexts:
https://math.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Applied_Mathematics/Applied_Finite_Mathe
matics_(Sekhon_and_Bloom)/02%3A_Matrices/
2.05%3A_Application_of_Matrices_in_Cryptography
Richards, K. (2021, September 27). Search Security. Retrieved from TechTarget:
https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/cryptography