However, computers have also assisted cryptanalysis, which has compensated to some extent for increased cipher complexity. Many computer ciphers can be characterized by their operation on binary bit sequences (sometimes in groups or blocks), unlike classical and mechanical schemes, which generally manipulate traditional characters (i.e., letters and digits) directly. Furthermore, computers allowed for the encryption of any kind of data that is represented by computers in any binary format, unlike classical ciphers which only encrypted written language texts, dissolving the utility of a linguistic approach to cryptanalysis in many cases. The development of digital computers and electronics after WWII made possible much more complex ciphers. most famously the Enigma machine used by Germany in World War II. Early in the 20th century, several mechanical encryption/decryption devices were invented, and many patented, including rotor machines With the invention of polyalphabetic ciphers came more sophisticated aids. In medieval times, other aids were invented such as the cipher grille, also used for a kind of steganography.
One of the earliest may have been the scytale of ancient Greece, a rod supposedly used by the Spartans as an aid for a transposition cipher. Various physical devices and aids have been used to assist with ciphers.
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