INTRODUCTION:



Greetings,

Before you attempt to use Voynich, be sure and read through the
file README!.NOW.

Voynich is a general purpose file encryption program. It will
work equally well with text or binary files. For added security
and to maximize storage or transfer efficiency, Voynich
compresses files before encrypting them.

Voynich's approach to encryption is unique. Voynich provides both
total security as well as ease of use. Files are encrypted with a
simple five character key. Before it can be used Voynich must be
initialized. The initialization process creates a unique copy of
Voynich. Files encrypted by that copy of Voynich can only be
decrypted by that same copy of Voynich. It is extremely unlikely
that any two copies of Voynich will ever be the same.

We are completely confident in the encryption method used by
Voynich. Included is the encrypted file TEST.VOY. It is a plain
text file in English. There's $500.00 waiting for the first
person to successfully decipher this file (see mailing address
below).



PROBLEM # 1:


To encrypt a document or file so that you have total control over
who may later decipher it to read or use.

There are two basic conditions where encryption is desirable.

a> One may wish to protect data that is stored on a
computer system or in an archive. Company business
records would be a fine example.

b> One may wish to protect data that is being transmitted
over a communications network, for example the phone
lines.

Superficially the task appears simple especially given access
to modern computer equipment. Unfortunately, modern computer
equipment can also make it fairly straight forward to break
through simple codes.

What would be an ideal method or device to use today to protect
the privacy of electronic data? Here's a wish list:

a> Foolproof protection is a must.
b> It should work well for both usage conditions above.
c> It should be inexpensive.
d> It should be safe and easy to use.
e> Authentication capability would be a big plus.
f> Transfer secrecy as an option would be great.
g> It should be reasonably fast.



PROBLEM # 2:


If we're going to do this using a computer program, the cipher
algorithm must function under transparent conditions. Nothing a
computer program does is secret. Any computer program can be
disassembled and its inner workings examined. In this situation,
how can we produce a secure cipher technique?

Consider DES as an example, the algorithm is public knowledge.
Any competent pogrammer can write a program to decipher DES
encoded data the only thing missing would be the key. Any
security that DES provides comes from the fact that there are 2
to the 56th power permutations for the key. That's a whopping big
number, and when DES was developed back in the 1950s it would
have taken a very expensive computer a very long time to try all
of those possibilities. Is DES secure today? Not totally. Today's
super computers now threaten DES. The code is breakable, but
still at considerable expense.

The IDEA algorithm, another popular encryption algorithm
(ViaCrypt PGP) uses a longer key 2 to the 128th power
permutations are possible. For the time being we can consider the
IDEA algorithm secure. Like DES the algorithm is public knowledge
and any competent programmer could write a decipher program for
IDEA. However, only Congress could afford the tab to run the
necessary super computers long enough to break an IDEA encrypted
file.

With the actual cipher method public knowledge, the only real
deterrent to decryption is to up the ante on the cost and effort
that decryption would require.



PROBLEM #3:


Ok, sure, we can make the possible permutations of the key so
huge that no one would consider trying to break it, all you have
to do is remember a three sentence long password key each time
you encrypt a file. Or, like the the RSA algorithm, we can make
the calculations so complex that each time you encrypt a file you
get to take a coffee break. How do we keep the program simple for
the end user and yet maintain effectiveness?



SOLUTIONS:


Voynich is easy to use, requiring only a five character key to
encrypt a file, yet it provides complete security. Before Voynich
can be used it must be initialized. With each initialization a
new unique working version of Voynich is created. Files encrypted
by that unique version of Voynich can only be deciphered by that
unique version of Voynich. The program itself becomes part of the
key and, although its inner workings may be transparent in a
general sense, because each version of the program is unique
after it is initialized, any attempt to attack it must be
directed specifically at that version of the program. The number
of program permutations for Voynich is 10000!/745!.

Let's compare Voynich to the criteria listed above and see how it
performs.

a> Foolproof protection is a must.
Voynich is as foolproof as you're going to get. It
would take a room full of super computers years to
break it.
b> It should work well for both usage conditions above.
Voynich is not as convenient for data transmission as a
double key system like RSA, but it is usable, equally
secure, and considerably faster. As for securing
sensitive data on a computer system, Voynich is ideal.
c> It should be inexpensive.
How's free sound?
d> It should be safe and easy to use.
Voynich is tops in ease of use. Unlike many current
cipher programs, Voynich is not a command line utility.
Once initialized, file encryption requires only a five
character code. Voynich is safe. You can't garble a
file by entering an incorrect key or attempting to
decrypt an un-encrypted file.
e> Authentication capability would be a big plus.
Because each initialized copy of Voynich is unique, you
can be certain that a file that successfully decodes
has not been tampered with. (You must take respon-
sibility to secure your working copy of Voynich).
f> Transfer secrecy as an option would be great.
Voynich fails here. In fact Voynich stamps each file it
encrypts so that it can be identified as encrypted.
g> It should be reasonably fast.
Voynich is reasonably fast.

Not a perfect score, but not bad.



DISTRIBUTION:


Voynich is distributed as freeware. That does not mean you may do
as you please with it. Voynich is copyrighted software -- Copr.
1994 Joe C. Angert. You may not sell Voynich. Companies that
distribute shareware and/or freeware may not charge more than
$5.00 to distribute Voynich on floppy disk. You may not alter
Voynich in any way. Otherwise, feel free to pass around copies of
Voynich.

WARNING: International distribution of Voynich may violate U.S.
export law. You should exercise caution if you plan to make
Voynich available on an international bulletin board system.

If you would like a virus free copy of the most recent version of
Voynich, send a disk and stamped self-addressed mailer, or a
couple bucks to the mailing address listed below.



THE NAME:


With considerable hubris, Voynich has been named after what is
arguably the most enduring and mysterious of encrypted documents.
The manuscript's authorship is unknown, however speculation has
attributed it to Roger Bacon (13th century), or Anthony Asham
(16th century). Over the centuries as it has changed hands, one
expert after another has either declared defeat, or suffered
embarrassment, unable to read, translate, or in any way decipher
the text.

In 1912 Wilfred Voynich purchased the manuscript from the Jesuit
school of Mondragone, Italy. The Jesuits had been in possession
of the document since 1666.

W. Voynich wanted the document deciphered and so expended
considerable effort to enlist expert assistance. Apart from some
short-lived false solutions, all efforts failed. In this century
at least, Mr. Voynich's efforts have earned him the honor of
having his name attached to the manuscript.

The manuscript was purchased from Voynich's estate by Mr. Kraus,
its current owner, who has priced it at $160,000.00.



Questions, comments and suggestions are welcome:


Joe Angert
APEX Software
5308 Reber Pl.
St. Louis, MO 63139
314-773-5462

on Compuserve at: 72202,3223