A discrete graph-theoretic spectral framework for analyzing classical cipher security
*Priya MathurCorresponding authordrpriyamathur21@gmail.comDepartment of MathematicsPoornima Institute of Engineering & TechnologyJaipur, Rajasthan, 302022, IndiaView full profile →
* Corresponding author · click or hover a name for details
- Received:
- 01 Mar 2026
- Published Online:
- 14 Aug 2026
- Article type:
- Research Article
- Language:
- EN
- Article no.:
- JDMSC-2817
- Pages:
- 3305–3313
Abstract
This paper proposes a spectral graph-theoretic framework for cryptanalysis using Cipher Transition Graphs (CTGs) and metrics such as eigenvalues, spectral gap, entropy, clustering, and path length. Results show that plaintext and Caesar cipher share identical properties (spectral gap 1.2056, entropy 12.6732), indicating weak transformation; Vigenère shows slight variation (gap 1.2652, clustering 0.1545); while Playfair exhibits higher clustering (0.1824) but lower entropy (11.4216). Overall, all ciphers retain structural patterns, confirming their moderate security and limitations.
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References
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