A new character-level encryption algorithm: How to implement cryptography in an ICT classroom

Abstract

Students who are studying their last year at High School face the problem of deciding their professional future. It is evident that the society in which we live will demand more and more qualified and specialized positions in the different branches of engineering. The aim of this paper is to explain how we solved a real problem - ensuring the confidentiality of information - with the knowledge acquired by students during their two years studying information and communication technologies (ICT). Three brilliant students were voluntarily provided with the mentoring service in which the algorithm was designed. As a result, we could design a symmetrical character-level encryption algorithm in the classroom as a final project that we named Azrael. Unfortunately, we did not have any scholarships or funding to do the extra work we had to do, only the personal satisfaction of seeing how the different skills were successfully applied to solve a real problem.

Keywords

• Cryptography, Azrael, symmetrical character-level encryption algorithm, substitution-permutation network, ICT