Method

Suppose we have a keyword EMAIL.

  1. Alphabetize keyword
EMAIL --> AEILM
  1. Calculate position of each letter in original keyword. So A is in position and thus is the first digit
A -> 3
E -> 1
I -> 4
L -> 5
M -> 2
  1. We get .

If we want to encrypt

MEET ME AT NOON

Then since len("EMAIL") = 5, we encode this as

MEETM
EATNO
ONQXJ

where QXJis junk to fill the last line. This is then encrypted as

EMTME
TENOA
QOXJN

by using . It tells us to use

  • 3rd letter, E
  • 1st letter, M
  • 4th, T
  • 5th, M
  • 2nd, E

giving us the ciphertext

EMTMETENOAQOXJN

Examples

Keyword: Zeus
Plaintext: MTSQAGXY

ZEUS -> ESUZ -> 2431

MTSQ -> TQSM
AGXY -> GYXA

Corresponding Ciphertext: TQSMGYXA (B)