At the end of the Great War, Major Joseph Mauborgne invented the concept of the random key. With this ideal came the philosophy of the onetime pad cipher. This cipher, which overcomes the weaknesses of all other ciphers, has been mathematically proven to be completely secure. Also known as the Holy Grail of cryptology, this cipher truly is undeniably unbreakable. Yet, this cipher, despite its astronomical advantages, is hardly ever used. The perfect cipher that undoubtedly offers the ultimate type of security is simply disregarded and the quest of cryptographers to find a better cipher continues. Why? How can you create a better cipher than one that is already perfect for protection from prying individuals? What could possibly be wrong with an unbreakable cipher?
The answer is that a price tag has indeed been put on secrecy. The cost of making one time ciphers is just too high, causing cryptographers to continue their search for a more efficient cipher. This begs the question will the war between cryptographers and cryptanalysts ever end? Originally, the thought was that once cryptographers created an unbreakable cipher, the war would be over. However, that time has come and past, yet the war continues. When, if ever, will cryptographers be satisfied with their new findings? This also gives rise to the question can cryptanalysts ever win this so-called war? Cryptanalysts are driven by the new inventions of cryptographers. Once a new cipher is created, the burden now lies on the cryptanalysts to break the cipher. Therefore, if cryptographers are never satisfied with their new ideas, then cryptanalysts will constantly be put to work trying to break the resulting ciphers. As it seems, this war is indeed never ending.
This, in turn, brings us back to our original question. Can you put a price tag on secrecy? Is it so vital that information be hidden by encryption, but not vital enough to pay the top dollar to ensure the information will never be discovered? It is hard for me to wrap my mind around this concept. When people utilize ciphers that they know can be broken, for the sake that they are less expensive, what is the point in creating the cipher in the first place? It seems as though the only thing you are paying when you use a cipher that has any possibility of being broken is the time in which it takes your enemy to break it. Do you agree?
Simple answer, you can put a price on secrecy. Most human beings are really cheap when prices get to a certain level, no mater what their paying for. And unless the Dali Lama is hiding some aliens in his basement, I really don't think you'll ever find someone who would be willing to pay a huge amount of money just to keep a secret.
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