This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Armin Memar
I’m a self-taught cryptography enthusiast and high school graduate who loves exploring the intersection of mathematics and programming.
This is the story behind CantorCipher— a lightweight, educational encryption algorithm I built from scratch using ideas from Cantor’s diagonal argument and Boolean logic.
Why I Created CantorCipher
During my study of cryptographic concepts, I became fascinated with how mathematics can drive real-world technology. One particular concept stuck with me: Cantor’s diagonal argument — a brilliant proof technique from set theory that shows how infinities can be “bigger” than other infinities.
It made me think:
What if we used diagonalization to create structure and uniqueness in cryptography?
That’s when the idea for CantorCipher was born — a symmetric block cipher that mixes bits based on mathematical rules, using Boolean logic and custom-designed bit mixing. I wanted something simple, deterministic, and mathematically elegant!
What Is CantorCipher?
CantorCipher is a symmetric encryption algorithm that:
- Converts messages and keys into binary
- Applies several rounds of Boolean logic mixing (XOR, AND, NOT, etc.)
- Uses diagonal-based patterns to compute an authentication tag
- Supports both encryption and decryption in Python
It’s not designed to compete with AES or ChaCha, but rather to show how encryption can be built creatively using bit-level logic and mathematical structure.
Core Design
- Boolean Logic: The cipher is built on fundamental logic operations like XOR, AND, and custom nonlinear bit rules.
- Diagonalization: A metaphorical application of Cantor’s diagonal method to ensure message–key uniqueness in tag generation.
- Bit Mixing: Rotations, permutations, and multi-round mixing create diffusion and a basic avalanche effect.
- Symmetry: The same operations decrypt what was encrypted, keeping it simple.
Features
- Pure Python, no dependencies
- Custom authentication tag to detect tampering
- Designed to teach encryption basics and mathematical reasoning
- Mathematically inspired — not just a cipher, but a learning tool
- Includes basic test cases for validation
Try It Out
You can find the project here:
github.com/ArminMemar/CantorCipher
It includes:
-
cantor_cipher.py: the encryption/decryption implementation -
test_cantor_cipher.py: basic tests -
README.md: everything explained clearly
All you need is Python 3.
What’s Next?
CantorCipher was just the beginning of my journey into cryptography. I plan to keep exploring how mathematics can power secure communication.
About Me
I’m a high school graduate who loves math, programming, and making new things. I’m exploring cryptography and computational theory through personal projects like CantorCipher.
Final Thoughts
I built CantorCipher because I love math, code, and turning ideas into experiments.
- If You Like This:
- Star CantorCipher on GitHub
- Comment or suggest improvements
- Share this post with anyone interested in crypto, math, or original ideas
Thanks for reading!
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Armin Memar