Auguste Kerckhoffs (19 January 1835 – 9 August 1903) was a Dutch

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and

cryptographer Cryptography, or cryptology (from grc, , translit=kryptós "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adver ...

in the late 19th century.

Biography

Kerckhoffs was born in

Nuth Nuth (; li, Nut ) is a village and was a municipality in the province of Limburg, situated in the southern Netherlands. In January 2019, the municipality merged with Schinnen and Onderbanken to form Beekdaelen. The village of Nuth has 4,595 inha ...

, the Netherlands, as Jean Guillaume Auguste Victor François Hubert Kerckhoffs, son of Jean Guillaume Kerckhoffs, mayor of the village of Nuth, and Jeanette Elisabeth Lintjens. Kerckhoffs studied at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

. After a period of teaching in schools in the Netherlands and France, he became a professor of German language at the

École des Hautes Études Commerciales HEC Paris (french: École des hautes études commerciales de Paris) is a business school, and one of the most prestigious and selective grandes écoles, located in Jouy-en-Josas, France. HEC offers Master in Management, MSc International Fi ...

(Paris) and the École Arago.

Principles

He is best known today for his two part paper published in 1883 in ''Le Journal des Sciences Militaires'' (''Journal of Military Science'') entitled ''La Cryptographie Militaire'' (''Military Cryptography''). These articles surveyed the then state-of-the-art in military cryptography, and made a plea for considerable improvements in French practice. They also included many pieces of practical advice and

rules of thumb In English, the phrase ''rule of thumb'' refers to an approximate method for doing something, based on practical experience rather than theory. This usage of the phrase can be traced back to the 17th century and has been associated with various t ...

, including six principles of practical cipher design: # The system should be, if not theoretically unbreakable, unbreakable in practice. # The design of a system should not require secrecy, and compromise of the system should not inconvenience the correspondents (

Kerckhoffs's principle Kerckhoffs's principle (also called Kerckhoffs's desideratum, assumption, axiom, doctrine or law) of cryptography was stated by Dutch-born cryptographer Auguste Kerckhoffs in the 19th century. The principle holds that a cryptosystem should be ...

). # The key should be memorable without notes and should be easily changeable. # The cryptograms should be transmittable by telegraph. # The apparatus or documents should be portable and operable by a single person. # The system should be easy, neither requiring knowledge of a long list of rules nor involving mental strain. The best-known is the second of his six principles, also known as

. It can be understood as the idea that the security of a cryptosystem must depend only on the key, and not on the secrecy of the algorithm used for encryption or any other part of the system.

Volapük

In 1885, Dr. Kerckhoffs became interested in the

constructed language A constructed language (sometimes called a conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, instead of having developed naturally, are consciously devised for some purpose, which may include being devised for a work of fiction ...

Volapük Volapük (; , "Language of the World", or lit. "World Speak") is a constructed language created between 1879 and 1880 by Johann Martin Schleyer, a Catholic priest in Baden, Germany, who believed that God had told him in a dream to create an ...

, and for several years was a leading member of the Volapük movement, and Director of the Academy of Volapük. He published several books on the subject and introduced the movement to France, Spain, and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

through a series of public lectures.

References

Bibliography

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerckhoffs, Auguste 1835 births 1903 deaths Pre-computer cryptographers Dutch cryptographers People from Nuth University of Liège alumni Volapük Volapükologists HEC Paris faculty