🔐 CipherForge

The Premier Community-Driven Educational & Learning Repository for Cryptography Algorithms

Master cryptography from first principles: from classical Caesar ciphers to modern AES, RSA, zero-knowledge proofs, and NIST post-quantum standards.

---

Warning

🛡️ Educational and Pedagogical Disclaimer

CipherForge is strictly designed for educational, academic, and research purposes. Algorithms and sample scripts illustrate underlying mathematics, attack surfaces, and historical evolution. They have not undergone formal security audits and must not be used to protect production data or secrets. For production systems, always rely on audited, battle-tested implementations such as cryptography (Python), libsodium, or Google's Tink.

---

📑 Table of Contents

• 🔐 CipherForge
  • 📑 Table of Contents
  • 📚 Curriculum & Master Algorithm Index
    • Level 01: Classical & Historical Ciphers
    • Level 02: Symmetric Key Cryptography
    • Level 03: Asymmetric / Public Key & Key Exchange
    • Level 04: Cryptographic Hashing, MACs & AEAD
    • Level 05: Digital Signatures & Protocols
    • Level 06: Password Hashing & Key Derivation (KDF)
    • Level 07: Modern, Advanced & Post-Quantum Cryptography
    • Level 08: Capstone Project (SecureVault CLI)
  • 🚀 Getting Started
    • Prerequisites & Quickstart
    • Launching the Interactive CLI
    • Navigation & Diagnostics Shortcuts
    • Running with Docker
  • 🎯 Track Your Progress & Curated Paths
  • 🤝 Contributing & Good First Issues
  • ⭐ Show Your Support
  • 📜 License

📚 Curriculum & Master Algorithm Index

Level 01: Classical & Historical Ciphers

Pen-and-paper ciphers, modular arithmetic, frequency analysis, and rotor machines.
📖 Level 01 Guide & Documentation

Algorithm	Category	Description	Source File
Caesar Cipher	Substitution	Shift cipher over $\mathbb{Z}_{26}$ with frequency analysis tool	level-01-classical-ciphers/traditional-ciphers/Caesar.py
Vigenère Cipher	Polyalphabetic	Repeating keyword shift with Kasiski examination	level-01-classical-ciphers/traditional-ciphers/Vigenere.py
Playfair Cipher	Digraph Substitution	5×5 key matrix digram substitution cipher	level-01-classical-ciphers/traditional-ciphers/Playfair.py
Hill Cipher	Linear Algebra	Matrix transformation modulo 26 & modular inverse	level-01-classical-ciphers/traditional-ciphers/Hill.py
Enigma Machine	Rotor Machine	WWII electro-mechanical rotor simulation & reflector	level-01-classical-ciphers/traditional-ciphers/Enigma.py
Rail Fence Cipher	Transposition	Zigzag geometric transposition & rail depth analyzer	level-01-classical-ciphers/traditional-ciphers/rail_fence.py

---

Level 02: Symmetric Key Cryptography

Block ciphers, Feistel networks, SPN structures, cipher modes, and stream ciphers.
📖 Level 02 Guide & Documentation

Subcategory	Algorithms Included	Source Directory
Block Ciphers	AES (128/192/256), DES, 3DES, Blowfish, Twofish, Camellia, IDEA, RC5, RC6, Serpent, Magma, Kuznyechik	level-02-symmetric-crypto/block-ciphers/
Cipher Modes	ECB (insecure demo), CBC, CFB, OFB, CTR, GCM (AEAD), CCM (AEAD), XTS (disk encryption)	level-02-symmetric-crypto/cipher-modes/
Stream Ciphers	ChaCha20 (RFC 8439), Salsa20, RC4 (broken), HC-128, Rabbit, A5/1 (GSM)	level-02-symmetric-crypto/stream-ciphers/

---

Level 03: Asymmetric / Public Key & Key Exchange

Trapdoor one-way functions: Integer Factorization, Discrete Logarithms, and Elliptic Curves.
📖 Level 03 Guide & Documentation

Subcategory	Algorithms Included	Source Directory
Public Key Encryption	RSA (OAEP), ElGamal, Rabin Cryptosystem, Paillier Additive Homomorphism	level-03-asymmetric-crypto/public-key-encryption/
Key Agreement	Diffie-Hellman (DH), Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH), X25519, MQV	level-03-asymmetric-crypto/key-exchange/
Elliptic Curves	Curve25519, Twisted Edwards Ed25519, Weierstrass ECDSA point multiplication	level-03-asymmetric-crypto/elliptic-curves/

---

Level 04: Cryptographic Hashing, MACs & AEAD

Collision resistance, Merkle-Damgård vs. Sponge, message authentication, and authenticated encryption.
📖 Level 04 Guide & Documentation

Subcategory	Algorithms Included	Source Directory
Hash Functions	MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2 (224/256/384/512), SHA-3 (Keccak), BLAKE2, BLAKE3, RIPEMD-160, Whirlpool, Tiger	level-04-hashing-and-macs/hash-functions/
Message Authentication	HMAC (SHA-256), CMAC (NIST SP 800-38B), GMAC (Galois MAC), Poly1305 ($2^{130}-5$)	level-04-hashing-and-macs/message-authentication/
Authenticated Encryption	AES-GCM, AES-CCM, ChaCha20-Poly1305, AES-OCB	level-04-hashing-and-macs/authenticated-encryption/

---

Level 05: Digital Signatures & Protocols

Non-repudiation, deterministic signing, Schnorr aggregation, and network handshake simulations.
📖 Level 05 Guide & Documentation

Subcategory	Algorithms Included	Source Directory
Digital Signatures	RSA-PSS / PKCS#1 v1.5, DSA (FIPS 186-4), ECDSA (secp256k1), Ed25519 (EdDSA), Schnorr (BIP-340)	level-05-signatures-and-protocols/digital-signatures/
Secure Protocols	TLS 1.3 Handshake simulation, SSH-2 Key Exchange, IPsec IKEv2, PGP / OpenPGP Hybrid, Kerberos	level-05-signatures-and-protocols/protocols/

---

Level 06: Password Hashing & Key Derivation (KDF)

Memory-hard functions, GPU/ASIC resistance, salting best practices, and protocol key derivation.
📖 Level 06 Guide & Documentation

Algorithm	Standard	Core Defense Concept	Source File
PBKDF2	RFC 2898 / NIST SP 800-132	Iteration stretching (600,000+ rounds) with HMAC-SHA256	level-06-password-and-kdf/kdf-algorithms/pbkdf2.py
BCrypt	Eksblowfish (OpenBSD)	Adaptive work factor ($2^{\text{cost}}$ rounds), salt packaging	level-06-password-and-kdf/kdf-algorithms/bcrypt_module.py
Scrypt	RFC 7914 (Colin Percival)	Memory-hard RAM caching ($N, r, p$) defeating custom ASIC chips	level-06-password-and-kdf/kdf-algorithms/scrypt_module.py
Argon2	RFC 9106 (PHC Winner)	Hybrid Argon2id / Argon2i / Argon2d memory-time defense	level-06-password-and-kdf/kdf-algorithms/argon2_module.py
HKDF	RFC 5869 Extract-and-Expand	Domain-separated multi-key expansion for TLS 1.3 & Signal	level-06-password-and-kdf/kdf-algorithms/hkdf_module.py

---

Level 07: Modern, Advanced & Post-Quantum Cryptography

Quantum-resistant schemes, homomorphic computation, multi-party computation, and zero-knowledge proofs.
📖 Level 07 Guide & Documentation

Subcategory	Schemes Included	Source Directory
Post-Quantum KEMs	CRYSTALS-Kyber (ML-KEM / FIPS 203), NTRU, Classic McEliece	level-07-advanced-and-pqc/post-quantum-kems/
Post-Quantum Signatures	CRYSTALS-Dilithium (ML-DSA / FIPS 204), Falcon (FN-DSA), SPHINCS+ (SLH-DSA / FIPS 205)	level-07-advanced-and-pqc/post-quantum-signatures/
Homomorphic Encryption	Paillier Additive Homomorphism (PHE), BFV / CKKS Fully Homomorphic (FHE)	level-07-advanced-and-pqc/homomorphic-encryption/
Secret Sharing & MPC	Shamir's $(k, n)$ Threshold Secret Sharing (SSSS), Yao's Garbled Circuits, Oblivious Transfer	level-07-advanced-and-pqc/secret-sharing/
Zero-Knowledge Proofs	Interactive Schnorr ZKP, non-interactive zk-SNARKs (Groth16), zk-STARKs	level-07-advanced-and-pqc/zero-knowledge-proofs/

---

Level 08: Capstone Project (SecureVault CLI)

End-to-End Encrypted File Vault and Secure Messaging CLI.
📖 Level 08 Architecture & Roadmap

• 🔒 Authenticated File Vault: Encrypt and decrypt arbitrary files using AES-256-GCM or ChaCha20-Poly1305 with PBKDF2/Argon2 key derivation and binary header verification.
• 📨 Asymmetric E2EE Messaging Envelope: Ephemeral X25519 ECDH agreement + HKDF-SHA256 session key derivation + ChaCha20-Poly1305 + Ed25519 digital signature.
• 🔬 Tamper Attack Simulation: Automatic bit-flipping attack simulation showing how AEAD guarantees tamper-detection and integrity failure.
• 💻 Runnable Source: level-08-capstone-project/secure_vault.py

---

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites & Quickstart

• Python 3.10+ (Python 3.11+ recommended)
• Git

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Aakash02A/CipherForge.git
cd CipherForge

# 2. Create and activate a virtual environment
python -m venv .venv

# Windows (PowerShell)
.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

# Linux / macOS
source .venv/bin/activate

# 3. Install core dependencies
pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -r requirements.txt

Launching the Interactive CLI

Start the interactive terminal explorer:

python main.py

Navigation & Diagnostics Shortcuts

Command	Action	Description
1 – 8	Select Level	Navigate to any of the 8 progressive levels
D	Run Diagnostics	Instantly verifies import integrity and dependencies for all 90 registered modules
S	Setup Guide	Inspects package configuration and shows environment status
H	Help	Displays all interactive command shortcuts
CLS	Clear Screen	Clears the terminal screen and redraws the banner
Q	Quit	Exits the toolkit

Running with Docker

Run CipherForge inside an isolated Docker container without configuring local Python packages:

docker compose run --rm crypto-toolkit

---

🎯 Track Your Progress & Curated Paths

CipherForge supports structured learning tracks tailored to your background and career goals:

• 📋 Interactive Learner Checklist (PROGRESS.md): Track your completion across all 8 levels and test your knowledge with self-assessment checkpoints.
• 🛣️ Curated Learning Tracks (TRACKS.md):
  • Track 1: 2-Week Security Interview Sprint
  • Track 2: Classical to Modern Cryptography Mastery
  • Track 3: Applied Cybersecurity & PKI Specialist
  • Track 4: Privacy-Preserving & Post-Quantum Frontier

---

🤝 Contributing & Good First Issues

We welcome contributions from developers, researchers, students, and cryptographers worldwide!

Whether you want to add a new algorithm, improve docstrings, contribute unit tests, or build cryptanalysis attack simulations:

• 📖 Check our Contribution Guide (CONTRIBUTING.md) for coding conventions and PR workflows.
• 🏷️ Look for Good First Issues:
  • Adding automated unit tests in tests/
  • Writing attack demonstrations (e.g. padding oracle simulation, CBC bit-flipping)
  • Profiling memory and Big-O computational benchmarks
  • Adding visualization scripts for mathematical structures

---

⭐ Show Your Support

If CipherForge helped you understand cryptography, ace a security interview, or design better software, please consider starring this repository! ⭐ It motivates contributors and helps fellow learners discover this project.

---

📜 License

This project is open-source under the MIT License.