Q1). How would you approach creating a generalized program to decipher/decipher any encrypted message, regardless of the technique used to create the cipher? What is your algorithm? Answer: If the algorithm for decrypting an encrypted message is to be independent of the technique used to create the cipher, I could only think of the brute force technique that tries to try every possible key. However, this is not always feasible, even with the computing capabilities available today. The success of brute force largely depends on the length of the key used for encryption. A longer key requires more computing time/power and is exponentially harder to crack. If n is the key size, the computer has to control the characters used based on the strength of key size combinations, which means it could take millions of billions of years or more depending on the key size. While DES, which uses 56-bit keys, is relatively easier to crack than AES, which uses 126-bit symmetric keys and is still considered a strong encryption. The brute force attack typically checks everything...