Knight's Tour Encryption System

The Knight's Tour Encryption System is a cryptographic application that leverages the Knight's Tour problem on a chessboard to generate a unique encryption key. This key is then used for XOR-based encryption and decryption of messages. The system provides a menu-driven command-line interface (CLI) for user interaction, allowing users to generate keys, save/load keys, encrypt/decrypt messages, and generate detailed reports.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Technologies Used
• Prerequisites
• Installation
• License
• Acknowledgements

Features

• Board Initialization: Initializes the chessboard and determines the starting position based on a hashed passphrase.
• Knight's Tour Algorithm: Uses a backtracking algorithm with Warnsdorff's rule to perform the Knight's Tour and generate the key sequence.
• File Operations: Allows users to save and load key sequences to and from files.
• Encryption and Decryption: Encrypts and decrypts messages using the generated key sequence.
• Report Generation: Generates detailed reports of the encryption key, including its length, sequence, hashed passphrase, and starting position.
• Performance Measurement: Measures the performance of key generation, encryption, and decryption processes.
• Menu-Driven CLI: Provides a user-friendly command-line interface for interacting with the system.

Technologies Used

• C++: The primary programming language used for the implementation.
• OpenSSL: Used for SHA-256 hashing functions.
• C++ Standard Library: Provides essential utilities and data structures.
• Filesystem Library: Used for filesystem operations (e.g., directory creation, file listing).

Prerequisites

• Git: To clone the repository.
• C++ Compiler: To compile the code (e.g., g++17).
• OpenSSL: For cryptographic functions.
• Homebrew (macOS): To install OpenSSL (optional).

Installation

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Venkat-Kolasani/Knight-s-Tour-Based-Cryptographic-Key-Generation.git
   cd Knight-s-Tour-Based-Cryptographic-Key-Generation
   

2. Install Dependencies: Ensure you have OpenSSL Installed.On MACOS,you can istall it using Homebrew :

   brew install openssl
   

3. Compile the Program:

   g++ -std=c++17 main.cpp -o knight_tour_encryption -I/opt/homebrew/opt/openssl@3/include -L/opt/homebrew/opt/openssl@3/lib -lssl -lcrypto
   

4. Run the Program:

   ./knight_tour_encryption
   

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgements

• This project was developed as a part of the End Semester Project for course "Design and Analysis of Algorithms" at the University
• The Knight's Tour problem and its applications in cryptography.
• OpenSSL for providing cryptographic functions.
• The C++ Standard Library for providing essential utilities and data structures.
• Insipired by various open source projects and articles