We all talk about #bitcoin .
But how did all this start?

Who are the giants, who’s shoulders Satoshi stood on?

Crazy Fun Facts about Cryptography
Thread

#1
2008- a link to a paper by Satoshi Nakamoto was posted to a cryptography mailing list
Jan 3, 2009- the #Bitcoin   network came into existence.

‘Make the Code be With You’
#Bitcoin   white paper converted into hex code
What side are you on?

#2

In 1995, Daniel Bernstein was brought to court for a cipher he designed.
The court ruling declared that software was protected speech under the 1st Amendment, contributing to regulatory changes on encryption.

Bernstein’s portrait from his Snuffle algorithm.

#3
The crypto-anarchy game would be played during cypherpunk meetings. Players would try to conduct business under the watchful eyes of others and then discuss their experiences in order to build on.

‘The 4 Modern Horsemen of the Apocalypse’
- government’s excuses for backdoors

#4
On Sep 19, 1992, in a house in Berkeley, a new movement that would change the course of history was created. The emergence of the Crypto Rebels as popular culture heroes was a tipping point in the crypto wars.

A Cypherpunks Manifesto in hex

#5

In 1991, then U.S Senator, Joe Biden, drafted a change to S.266, ensuring back doors in communications. This led Phil Zimmerman to publish PGP, making him both a hero and investigated for violations of federal law.

Zimmerman’s portrait on preface to PGP in hex

#6

The ‘Crypto’ Conferences started in 1981. Over a hundred members of the new crypto community were spending days together in a Pacific beach discussing everything from cutting edge algorithms to cryptoanalysis.

#7

In 1977, RSA, a formula for digital signatures and a means to establish trust on an electronic network was published. The paper was the first appearance of Alice and Bob, who would become the standard in cryptography papers.

‘The Crypto Genie has Left the Bottle’

#8

In 1976, Diffie, Hellman and Merkle bring cryptography from the shadowy realm of classified espionage into the public space and create a major breakthrough that enabled secure communications over the Internet.

‘The Kiss of Death ‘

#9
In 1975 the NSA began to work behind the scenes to restrict the nascent academic field of cryptology. The National Science Foundation was warned that the NSA were the only agency with authority to fund research on cryptology.

The Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace

#10

In the 1970’s Whitfield Diffie recognized the importance of data privacy in an increasingly digital world. He went on a quest to seek out any information on the dark art known as cryptography, then controlled by NSA.

#11

The Delphic Oracle was the most prestigious and authoritative Oracle among the Greeks. When asked a question, an Oracle never gave a direct answer, but spoke in allegories with ‘hidden meanings’ and ambiguities.

‘The Oracles of Crypto’
The Forefathers of Cryptography

#12

In the 19th C. the personal advertisement section in newspapers would sometimes be used to exchange encrypted messages using simple cipher schemes. Lovers would engage in secret communications through The Times . (The Codebreakers, Kahn)

#13

In the 18th C., anyone wanting a ‘passport’ to leave France would have to go through investigation and see the French foreign minister with a seemingly innocent paper- not knowing it was encrypted with revealing information.

#14

Leon Batista Alberti developed the Alberti Cipher in 1467, a type of cipher that revolutionized encryption and to which most of today’s systems of cryptography belong - making him the Father of Western Cryptology.

#15
It was the Spartans, who established the first system of military cryptography. The device, consisted of a tapered baton around which The disconnected letters make no sense unless they are wrapped around a certain diameter of baton, serving as the key.

#16

In 1757 a cipher manuscript to which only Madame d’Urfe had the key, was given to a man to decipher. When he deciphered it, to her disbelief, he said a genie revealed the key to him. . . ’That day I had her heart’ - Casanova

#17
The Beale papers, a pamphlet from 1885 contains 3 cipher texts, stating the location of a buried treasure of gold, silver and jewels estimated to be worth over US$43 million as of January 2018. No one has been able to decipher them yet.

#18
One of the best cryptographic fiction writers was Arthur Conan Doyle. No wonder then, that Sherlock Holmes was a cryptography expert. Holmes’ most famous decipherment is told in ‘The Adventure of the Dancing Men’

#19
One of the basic tenets of Kabbalah is that language reflects the fundamental spiritual nature of the world. New revelations about existence were produced be wringing hidden meanings in every word and letter.

#20
At a monastery in Egypt, 6th C AD, a man enciphered a message in a bid for immortality- ‘In the name of God before all things, I Victor, the humble poor man - remember me’. The encipherment of his plea gave him his wish.

#21

Vātsyāyana’s famous textbook of erotics, the Kama Sutra, lists secret writing as one of the 64 arts, or yogas, that lovers should know and practice. A couple should have a language of their own, that no one understands.

Those were 21 Facts about Cryptography.

If you found that interesting, jump down the Crypto rabbit hole to see the history and importance of it in shaping the future

https://www.yonatvaks.com/post/cryptotales

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https://niftygateway.com/collections/yonatpacks