A Microsoft Excel based cryptography scheme using matrix operations

Abstract

The Microsoft Office suite which usually is encompassed on the Windows operating system comprises of the Microsoft Excel package which can be of great value if properly utilised. Various daily operations can be modelled as a set of linear equations which can easily be presented in form of a matrix. The limitation on the spectrum of users capable of solving these problems to achieve intended results is mainly based on the complex theoretical mathematical operations and computer programming efficiency usually required. This paper intends to demonstrate the ability to solve modelling problems by the use of Microsoft Excel in the field of Cryptography. The encoding process in the conversion of plaintext to cypher text and the decoding process which is the reverse process are illustrated by utilising in-built formulas associated with the Microsoft Excel package. The thrust of this paper is on the utilisation of the uniqueness of the inverse property of invertible matrices.