What Is a Cipher Machine?
A cipher machine is a device used for encoding and decoding individual words and messages. The evolution of the cipher machine has been heavily influenced by seemingly inevitable instances of code cracking. Historically used by militaries and governments worldwide, cipher machines have evolved from their simplistic wooden wheel construction to high-tech computers outfitted with router encryption software. The earliest documented case of the use of ciphers details Julius Caesar, who used ciphers as a means of communicating with his generals on the battlefield. His cipher utilized a shift in alphabetic characters that remained constant throughout the entire message, known as a monoalphabetic cipher. Caesar’s cipher algorithm would later serve as the inspiration for a cipher machine which would be the first to mechanically encrypt messages. Leon Battista Alberti, known as the father of western cryptography, developed the first mechanical encryption machine. Inspired by Caesar’s ciphering
