The development of CrypTool started in 1998. Originally developed by German companies and universities, it is anopen-source project since 2001.[2]
Currently 4 versions of CrypTool are maintained and developed: The CrypTool 1 (CT1) software is available in 6 languages (English, German, Polish, Spanish, Serbian, and French). CrypTool 2 (CT2), JCrypTool (JCT), and CrypTool-Online (CTO) are available in English and German.[3]
The goal of the CrypTool project is to make users aware of how cryptography can help againstnetwork security threats and to explain the underlying concepts of cryptology.[4]
CrypTool 1 (CT1) is written inC++ and designed for theMicrosoft Windows operating system.
In 2007, development began on two additional projects, both based on a pure-plugin architecture, to serve as successors to the original CrypTool program. Both successors regularly publish new stable versions:
CrypTool 2[5][6] (built with C#/.NET/WPF) (abbreviated CT2)
uses the concept ofvisual programming to clarify cryptographic processes. Currently, CT2 contains more than 150 crypto functions.
JCrypTool 1.0[7][8] (built with Java/Eclipse/RCP/SWT) (abbreviated JCT)
runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and offers both a document-centric and a function-centric perspective. Currently, JCT contains more than 100 crypto functions. One of its focal points are modern digital signatures (like Merkle trees and SPHINCS).
In early 2020, the CrypTool project decided to merge[15] with a similar project of the same name, CrypTools, founded in 2017 in Australia by Luka Lafaye de Micheaux, Arthur Guiot, and Lucas Gruwez.[16] CrypTool, much older and known, thus completely "absorbs" the project under its name.
