Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!clyde!cbatt!ihnp4!drutx!mtuxo!mtune!mtund!bem
From: bem@mtund.UUCP (Bruce McNair)
Newsgroups: sci.crypt
Subject: Re: Multiple "valid" decryptions
Message-ID: <829@mtund.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 19-Dec-86 14:17:10 EST
Article-I.D.: mtund.829
Posted: Fri Dec 19 14:17:10 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 20-Dec-86 06:01:42 EST
References: <97@vianet.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T ISL Middletown NJ USA
Lines: 15

> 
>   Something to reflect upon, when thinking about decrypting a message
> using a key with a very large range, is the large number of possible
> decryptions that may result.  Obviously, most of the decryptions
> when using a random key will be garbage.  However, what's intriguing
> is the thought that some of the random keys will produce random
> interesting messages.
> Bob Devine
> [ encrypting my name produces 13013...:-)]

The whole strength of the "one time pad" cryptosystem (the only publically
known, provably secure against all attacks cryptosystem) is based on that 
fact - a cipher can be decrypted into any of 2**n plaintexts (for an
n bit message) and all are equally plausible plaintexts, given the
cipher.