oIn this ciphertext, I have retained the original word spacing, punctuation, etc

Question

oIn this ciphertext, I have retained the original word spacing, punctuation, etc.

You can now use the Java tool to determine letter frequencies, and come up with a first approximation of the substitution table, based on those frequencies.

Also, try: http://www.richkni.co.uk/php/crypta/freq.php

Translate the text, based on the auto-generated table, and see if you can see anything that resembles recognizable plaintext. .

Using the tool, change individual letter substitutions until you believe you have the complete plaintext.

Hint: You will probably find that you will have to look at the generated "plaintext" and make educated guesses at what the words might be, using clues like partially-formed words, punctuation, and a knowledge of the common two-letter and three-letter words that exist in the English language.

Copy the plaintext from your Output Text area (Ctrl/A, followed by Ctrl/C), and paste it back into a new document in your editor. 11. Print the result from your editor, or copy and paste it into.

“Ciphertext"

Byx 10 Bminebz by Dyoxcbni Zgzbnoz Vkducln Xiysnzzyiz ekl Zbclnkbz
Jg ANSSING I. GYCKR
Heink OdLyfnuu zxnkb zntnieu legz bmvz seuu linzznl vk e xcixun svzm dyzbcon, myulvkr e xuezbvd zxnei.

Oz. OdLyfnuu, e knbfyih-zndcivbg ekeugzb eb bmn Ckvtnizvbg ys Tvirvkve, fekbnl by ievzn efeinknzz ejycb "xmvzmvkr," n-oevu zdmnonz vk fmvdm dyk eibvzbz znkl onzzernz by bivdh xnyxun vkby rvtvkr ycb xezzfyilz yi ybmni xnizykeu vksyioebvyk. Oz. OdLyfnuu feuhnl eiyckl mvrm-biessvd einez ys bmn deoxcz by rnb ebbnkbvyk. "Zyonbvonz V vkbiylcdnl ogznus ez e sieclcunkb n-oevu jndeczn oekg xnyxun lyk'b hkyf fmeb e xmvzm vz," zmn zevl.

Bmn ycbsvb myyhnl dcivycz zbclnkbz, fmy ezhnl mni fmeb zmn fez cx by, ekl oyzb uvzbnknl by mni zxvnu. Vk bmn xezb, xuevkduybmnz elovkvzbiebyiz znb cx bejunz ekl meklnl ycb jiydmcinz ejycb bmn voxyibekdn ys dyoxcbni zndcivbg. Jcb Oz. OdLyfnuu snub bmeb zcdm nssyibz oeln uvbbun voxedb, zvkdn zbclnkbz oyzbug feuhnl jg fvbmycb zbyxxvkr. Bmn svzm dyzbcon fez mni vlne — bmn ckvtnizvbg xevl e uydeu zneozbinzz $60 by oehn vb — jndeczn zmn snub bmeb e jvb ys suezmvknzz ekl mcoyi fycul mnux bmn onzzern zvkh vk.

Czni efeinknzz vz riyfvkr vk voxyibekdn fmnk vb dyonz by dyoxcbni zndcivbg. Kyb uykr ery, hnnxvkr dyuunrn knbfyihz zesn siyo dgjni ebbedhniz oevkug vktyutnl oehvkr zcin dyoxcbniz eiyckl deoxcz mel bmn uebnzb zysbfein xebdmnz. Knf dyoxcbni fyioz yi tvicznz fycul xyx cx, behvkr eltekbern ys zyon lvrvbeu myun vk bmn Fvklyfz yxniebvkr zgzbno yi vk xyxcuei Fnj zysbfein, ekl yssvdveuz fycul fyih by xucr bmn rexz.
Bmyzn fnin bmn ryyl yul legz — jedh fmnk oekg jvr ebbedhz fnin zbeibnl jg myjjgvzbz fmy ryb e dmnex bmivuu febdmvkr rnnh zwcelz zdieojun.

Byleg e riyfvkr kcojni ys knbfyih jel rcgz ein xiysnzzvykeu divovkeuz, ekl bmng'in uyyhvkr by zbneu ineu oykng. Bmng lyk'b aczb fekb by xyzb ek nojeiiezzvkr kybn yk gyci dyuunrn'z myon xern. Bmng fekb by kej bmn vlnkbvbvnz ys zbclnkbz ekl xiysnzzyiz by ry yk zmyxxvkr zxinnz fvbm syirnl dinlvb deilz. Fvbm bmn ruyjeu ndykyog rnbbvkr uyczvni, yssvdveuz xinlvdb bmeb ntnk oyin medhniz fvuu rnb vkby bmn edb vk zneidm ys nezg dezm.

Vkdinezvkrug, bmn fnehnzb xeib ys e knbfyih vz bmn czniz, fmy deinunzzug rvtn ycb bmnvi xezzfyilz yi unetn voxyibekb vksyioebvyk syi bmn behvkr.

Bmeb'z bmn dykduczvyk V inedmnl eb e indnkb Leiboycbm Dyuunrn dyksninkdn yk "Zndcivkr bmn nDeoxcz: Jcvulvkr e Dcubcin ys Vksyioebvyk Zndcivbg vk ek Edelnovd Vkzbvbcbvyk," fmnin V fez ezhnl by rvtn og behn yk zndcivbg bminebz. V dyoxvunl bmn syuuyfvkr byx-10 uvzb ys deoxcz dyoxcbni-zndcivbg ivzhz jeznl yk zntnieu indnkb dyoxcbvkr zcitngz ekl vkbnitvnfz fvbm oyin bmek e lypnk dyuunrn-bndmkyuyrg unelniz. Bmn uvzb, yilninl siyo unezb by oyzb znivycz, vz jg ky onekz zdvnkbvsvd, jcb vb rvtnz e znkzn ys fmnin byleg'z jebbun uvknz ein — ekl fmg "xmvzm" dyzbconz zmycul jndyon oyin dyooyk yk deoxcznz.

Bmineb #10: Zxeooniz
Bmn ckfekbnl n-oevu eltnibvzvkr onzzernz keonl esbni dekknl oneb inxinznkb e dykzbekb ebbedh yk bmn deoxcz, ekl dyuundbvtnug bmng dek metn e zvrkvsvdekb voxedb yk knbfyih xnisyioekdn. Ntnk bmycrm oekg dyuunrnz dek zbyx oyzb zxeo onzzernz jnsyin bmng inedm czniz, svubnivkr ycb elz syi Tverie lvtnibz nknirg efeg siyo ybmni edbvtvbvnz bmeb VB yssvdveuz dycul jn lyvkr.
Oyin voxyibekb, zxeo vz ek cklniugvkr sedbyi vk ybmni knbfyih-zndcivbg xiyjunoz, zvkdn zyon ebbedhniz evo eb dyuunrn knbfyihz by mnux bmno znkl oyin zxeo, jg mvaedhvkr zbclnkb dyoxcbniz ekl bcikvkr bmno vkby zxeo znitniz. Zy vs zxeooniz dycul jn zbyxxnl, bmeb fycul mnux inlcdn ybmni hvklz ys knbfyih bminebz.

Bmineb #9: Dnuuxmyknz
Bmn kcojni ys vXmyknz ekl ybmni Fnj-zcisvkr zoeibxmyknz yk deoxcznz vz riyfvkr iexvlug. Zvkdn zyon xmyknz dek dykkndb by fvinunzz knbfyihz bmeb juekhnb deoxcznz, vb vz nezg syi zbclnkbz, xiysnzzyiz, ekl elovkvzbiebyiz by ly euu zyibz ys dyoockvdebvyk yk bmnvi xmyknz bmeb bmng cznl by ly yk bmnvi uexbyxz. Fmvdm vz rineb, ckbvu medhniz dinebn tvicznz syi dnuuxmyknz yi ckbvu e czni uyznz e xmykn fvbm znkzvbvtn lebe zbyinl yk vb. Ekl zy sei, zoeibxmyknz ein meilni by zndcin bmek uexbyxz yi lnzhbyxz jndeczn tvicz-lnbndbvyk zysbfein dek wcvdhug ick lyfk dnuuxmyknz' jebbnivnz.

Bmineb #8: Xmvzmniz
Xmvzmvkr zdeoz ein rnbbvkr oyin zyxmvzbvdebnl. Zyon neiug n-oevu onzzernz bmeb ebbnoxbnl by bivdh czniz vkby intneuvkr xezzfyilz fnin uvbbninl fvbm zxnuuvkr niiyiz yi xyyi rieooei, bvxxvkr xnyxun yss bmeb bmng fnin sehnz. Jcb byleg bmn jevb vz oyin uvsnuvhn.
Vk e zdmnon bmeb mez nonirnl vk bmn xezb gnei, zdeooniz xinbnkl by jn dyuunrn knbfyih yssvdveuz ezhvkr indvxvnkbz syi bmnvi knbfyih VL'z ekl xezzfyilz. Dyuunrnz ein zbicrruvkr by nlcdebn zbclnkbz ekl xiysnzzyiz bmeb bmng zmycul kntni, ntni rvtn ycb bmnvi xezzfyilz tve n-oevu.

Bmineb #7: Zydveu Knbfyihz
Bmn xyxcuei Sednjyyh zydveu-knbfyihvkr zgzbno fez vktnkbnl jg e dyuunrn zbclnkb, ekl zbclnkbz ein eoykr vbz oyzb nkbmczvezbvd czniz. Jcb dgjnidivovkeuz metn syckl bmeb zydveu knbfyihz ein vlneu xyyuz syi xmvzmvkr ebbedhz.
E zbclg jg Vklveke Ckvtnizvbg inzneidmniz zmyfnl bmeb xmvzmvkr zdmnonz fnin ocdm oyin uvhnug by bivdh xnyxun yk zydveu knbfyihz bmek tve n-oevu — vk zyon deznz rnbbvkr 70 xnidnkb ys czniz by seuu syi bmn zdeo. Vk ykn xyxcuei zdmnon, zbclnkbz rnb e onzzern bmeb exxneiz by dyon siyo e sivnkl, zegvkr bmeb vs bmng duvdh e uvkh bmng fvuu znn e tvlny duvx bmeb bmng exxnei vk. Bmn uvkh behnz czniz by e zvbn bmeb bivnz by vkzbeuu oeuvdvycz zysbfein yk bmnvi dyoxcbniz.

Bmineb #6: Ycbzycidn Xeibkniz
Dyuunrnz ein ycbzycidvkr oyin bndmkyuyrg znitvdnz bmek ntni bmnzn legz, xcbbvkr bmn zndcivbg ys deoxcz vksyioebvyk vk zyonykn nuzn'z meklz. Deuuvkr tnklyiz e "bmineb" vz xiyjejug byy zbiykr, jcb dyoxekvnz dek jn e xyvkb ys tcukniejvuvbg syi deoxcznz. Dezn vk xyvkb: Bmvz Exivu e dykbiedbyi syi ZckReil Mvrmni Nlcdebvyk mel e uexbyx zbyunk, ekl vb dykbevknl lebe siyo 18 dyuunrnz bmeb fnin duvnkbz ys bmn dyoxekg. Syi ykn ys bmyzn vkzbvbcbvykz euykn, Dykkndbvdcb Zbebn Ckvtnizvbg, bmn uexbyx mel lebe syi 3,502 zbclnkbz ekl eucokv siyo syci deoxcznz.

Bmineb #5: Zbclnkbz
Ntnig gnei zbclnkbz znno by jndyon oyin deinunzz ejycb dyoxcbni zndcivbg, eddyilvkr by zyon dyuunrn yssvdveuz. Zbclnkbz fvuu mexxvug rvtn bmnvi xezzfyilz by sivnklz by dmndh bmnvi n-oevu syi bmno. Yi bmng'uu dinebn zvoxun xezzfyilz bmeb ein nezg syi ebbedhniz by rcnzz.

Bmineb #4: Xiysnzzyiz
Bmn ykug xnyxun oyin deinunzz yk bmnvi dyoxcbniz bmek zbclnkbz ein xiysnzzyiz. Fmnk e xmvzmvkr zdmnon mvb Zbeksyil Ckvtnizvbg bmvz gnei, syi vkzbekdn, bmn tezb oeayivbg ys bmyzn fmy snuu syi bmn dyk fnin sedcubg onojniz.

Bmineb #3: Zbess Onojniz
Zyon dyuunrnz dyuundb oyin znkzvbvtn vksyioebvyk bmek bmng knnl, unetvkr oyin yxxyibckvbvnz syi bmn lebe by jn nqxyznl by bmn xcjuvd yi zfvxnl jg medhniz. Zntnieu indnkb inxyibz zevl ovzbehnz jg deinunzz noxuygnnz mel decznl oyin lebe jinedmnz bmek ycbzvln ebbedhniz mel.

Bmineb #2: Bmvntnz
Bmnsbz ys dyoxcbniz fvbm znkzvbvtn lebe metn vkdineznl nedm gnei syi bmn xezb svtn gneiz, eddyilvkr by bmn uebnzb zcitng jg bmn Deoxcz Dyoxcbvkr Xiyandb, fmvdm biedhz dyuunrn VB binklz. Bmvz gnei oyin bmek 30 dyuunrnz metn inxyibnl uyzb yi zbyunk dyoxcbniz yi meil livtnz fvbm znkzvbvtn lebe yk bmno. Ez uexbyxz rnb zoeuuni ekl suezm livtnz rnb oyin dexedvycz, bmvz bmineb fvuu tnig uvhnug riyf. Yssvdveuz indyoonkl bmeb xiysnzzyiz ekl elovkvzbiebyiz nkdigxb znkzvbvtn lebe zy bmeb divovkeuz fyk'b jn ejun by znn zcdm vksyioebvyk yk uexbyxz bmng'tn zfvxnl.

Bmineb #1: Oeufein ekl Jybknbz
Bmn Rnyirve Bndm Vksyioebvyk Zndcivbg Dnkbni nzbvoebnz bmeb 15 xnidnkb ys ykuvkn dyoxcbniz fyiulfvln ein xeib ys jybknbz: ovuuvykz ys dyoxcbniz vksndbnl fvbm oeuvdvycz dyln bmeb unbz ebbedhniz bcik bmno vkby "pyojvnz" syi bmnvi yfk ntvu nundbiykvd lnnlz (jybknbz ein ysbnk cznl by znkl zxeo). Bmeb'z cx siyo 10 xnidnkb e gnei ery.
Bmn xiyjuno vz bmeb oeufein, ez bmvz ekl ybmni oeuvdvycz zysbfein vz deuunl, rnbz cxrielnl sezbni bmek ekbvtvicz zysbfein. "Bmn jel rcgz dek inxedh ekl ininunezn bmnvi oeuvdvycz dyln sezbni bmek bmn ryyl rcgz dek jcvul ekl lvzbivjcbn ekbvtvicz zvrkebcinz by vlnkbvsg ekl juydh vb," zegz Ayznxm N. Zb. Zectni, oekerni ys zndcivbg xiyrieoz syi Vkbniknb2, ek edelnovd-dyoxcbvkr dykzyibvco.

Vb'z dunei bmeb bndm zndcivbg vz ez ocdm e xnyxun xiyjuno ez vb vz e bndmkyuyrvdeu ykn. Ekl nlcdebvyk ekl efeinknzz ys ryyl dyoxcbni mgrvnkn ein oyin voxyibekb bmek ntni by hnnx knbfyihz dunek ekl lebe zesn. Bmn Ckvtnizvbg ys Tvirvkve mez euinelg indnvtnl inwcnzbz siyo zndcivbg yssvdveuz eb ybmni dyuunrnz fmy fekb by jyiiyf bmn dyzbcon.

Bmn Dmiykvdun ys Mvrmni Nlcdebvyk
Zndbvyk: Vksyioebvyk Bndmkyuyrg
Tyucon 55, Vzzcn 17, Xern E9

Explanation / Answer

Answer:

Top 10 Threats to Computer Systems Include Professors and Students
By JEFFREY R. YOUNG
Karen McDowell spent several days this fall dressed in a purple fish costume, holding a plastic spear.

Ms. McDowell, a network-security analyst at the University of Virginia, wanted to raise awareness about "phishing," e-mail schemes in which con artists send messages to trick people into giving out passwords or other personal information. Ms. McDowell walked around high-traffic areas of the campus to get attention. "Sometimes I introduced myself as a fraudulent e-mail because many people don't know what a phish is," she said.

The outfit hooked curious students, who asked her what she was up to, and most listened to her spiel. In the past, plainclothes administrators set up tables and handed out brochures about the importance of computer security. But Ms. McDowell felt that such efforts made little impact, since students mostly walked by without stopping. The fish costume was her idea — the university paid a local seamstress $60 to make it — because she felt that a bit of flashiness and humor would help the message sink in.

User awareness is growing in importance when it comes to computer security. Not long ago, keeping college networks safe from cyber attackers mainly involved making sure computers around campus had the latest software patches. New computer worms or viruses would pop up, taking advantage of some digital hole in the Windows operating system or in popular Web software, and officials would work to plug the gaps.
Those were the good old days — back when many big attacks were started by hobbyists who got a cheap thrill watching geek squads scramble.

Today a growing number of network bad guys are professional criminals, and they're looking to steal real money. They don't just want to post an embarrassing note on your college's home page. They want to nab the identities of students and professors to go on shopping sprees with forged credit cards. With the global economy getting lousier, officials predict that even more hackers will get into the act in search of easy cash.

Increasingly, the weakest part of a network is the users, who carelessly give out their passwords or leave important information for the taking.

That's the conclusion I reached at a recent Dartmouth College conference on "Securing the eCampus: Building a Culture of Information Security in an Academic Institution," where I was asked to give my take on security threats. I compiled the following top-10 list of campus computer-security risks based on several recent computing surveys and interviews with more than a dozen college-technology leaders. The list, ordered from least to most serious, is by no means scientific, but it gives a sense of where today's battle lines are — and why "phish" costumes should become more common on campuses.

Threat #10: Spammers
The unwanted e-mail advertising messages named after canned meat represent a constant attack on the campus, and collectively they can have a significant impact on network performance. Even though many colleges can stop most spam messages before they reach users, filtering out ads for Viagra diverts energy away from other activities that IT officials could be doing.
More important, spam is an underlying factor in other network-security problems, since some attackers aim at college networks to help them send more spam, by hijacking student computers and turning them into spam servers. So if spammers could be stopped, that would help reduce other kinds of network threats.

Threat #9: Cellphones
The number of iPhones and other Web-surfing smartphones on campuses is growing rapidly. Since some phones can connect to wireless networks that blanket campuses, it is easy for students, professors, and administrators to do all sorts of communication on their phones that they used to do on their laptops. Which is great, until hackers create viruses for cellphones or until a user loses a phone with sensitive data stored on it. And so far, smartphones are harder to secure than laptops or desktops because virus-detection software can quickly run down cellphones' batteries.

Threat #8: Phishers
Phishing scams are getting more sophisticated. Some early e-mail messages that attempted to trick users into revealing passwords were littered with spelling errors or poor grammar, tipping people off that they were fakes. But today the bait is more lifelike.
In a scheme that has emerged in the past year, scammers pretend to be college network officials asking recipients for their network ID's and passwords. Colleges are struggling to educate students and professors that they should never, ever give out their passwords via e-mail.

Threat #7: Social Networks
The popular Facebook social-networking system was invented by a college student, and students are among its most enthusiastic users. But cybercriminals have found that social networks are ideal pools for phishing attacks.
A study by Indiana University researchers showed that phishing schemes were much more likely to trick people on social networks than via e-mail — in some cases getting 70 percent of users to fall for the scam. In one popular scheme, students get a message that appears to come from a friend, saying that if they click a link they will see a video clip that they appear in. The link takes users to a site that tries to install malicious software on their computers.

Threat #6: Outsource Partners
Colleges are outsourcing more technology services than ever these days, putting the security of campus information in someone else's hands. Calling vendors a "threat" is probably too strong, but companies can be a point of vulnerability for campuses. Case in point: This April a contractor for SunGard Higher Education had a laptop stolen, and it contained data from 18 colleges that were clients of the company. For one of those institutions alone, Connecticut State University, the laptop had data for 3,502 students and alumni from four campuses.

Threat #5: Students
Every year students seem to become more careless about computer security, according to some college officials. Students will happily give their passwords to friends to check their e-mail for them. Or they'll create simple passwords that are easy for attackers to guess.

Threat #4: Professors
The only people more careless on their computers than students are professors. When a phishing scheme hit Stanford University this year, for instance, the vast majority of those who fell for the con were faculty members.

Threat #3: Staff Members
Some colleges collect more sensitive information than they need, leaving more opportunities for the data to be exposed to the public or swiped by hackers. Several recent reports said mistakes by careless employees had caused more data breaches than outside attackers had.

Threat #2: Thieves
Thefts of computers with sensitive data have increased each year for the past five years, according to the latest survey by the Campus Computing Project, which tracks college IT trends. This year more than 30 colleges have reported lost or stolen computers or hard drives with sensitive data on them. As laptops get smaller and flash drives get more capacious, this threat will very likely grow. Officials recommend that professors and administrators encrypt sensitive data so that criminals won't be able to see such information on laptops they've swiped.

Threat #1: Malware and Botnets
The Georgia Tech Information Security Center estimates that 15 percent of online computers worldwide are part of botnets: millions of computers infected with malicious code that lets attackers turn them into "zombies" for their own evil electronic deeds (botnets are often used to send spam). That's up from 10 percent a year ago.
The problem is that malware, as this and other malicious software is called, gets upgraded faster than antivirus software. "The bad guys can repack and rerelease their malicious code faster than the good guys can build and distribute antivirus signatures to identify and block it," says Joseph E. St. Sauver, manager of security programs for Internet2, an academic-computing consortium.

It's clear that tech security is as much a people problem as it is a technological one. And education and awareness of good computer hygiene are more important than ever to keep networks clean and data safe. The University of Virginia has already received requests from security officials at other colleges who want to borrow the costume.

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Section: Information Technology
Volume 55, Issue 17, Page A9

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