Prepare an exhibit on cryptography. Include devices
or charts for writing and deciphering codes, coded messages,
and illustrations of famous codes from history. For example,
codes are found in literature in Before the Curtain
Falls, by J. Rives Childs; The Gold Bug, by
Edgar Allan Poe, Voyage to the Center of Earth,
by Jules Verne.
References:
Andree, Richard V., "Cryptography as a Branch of Mathematics,"
The Mathematics Teacher, November 1952.
Gardner, Martin, "Mathematical Games Department," Scientific
American, August 1972, pp. 114-118.
Shasta, Dennis, Codes, Puzzles, and Conspiracy,
Menlo Park, CA: Dale Seymour Publications, 1993.
Write a paper on the importance of cryptography for
the internet. You might begin with the Scientific American
article by Philip Zimmerman and conclude with the RSA
"Secret-Key Challenge." References:
Zimmerman, Philip, "Cryptography for the Internet,"
Scientific American, October, 1998, pp. 110-115.
RSA Data Security Secret-Key Challenge:
http://www.rsa.com/press_release.aspx?id=1400
Note: If you look at the page Status and Prizes,
you will see the contest RC5-32/12/5 This $10,000 prize
was won by deciphering the following secret message: "Strong
cryptography makes the world a better place."
