How to break a columnar transposition cipher? I'm currently studying for a cryptography exam. I've been given ciphertext that has been encrypted by a columnar transposition cipher. I've been given no shift key length or key word, the only thing I know is that only 2 columns have been shifted.

How can I determine the key? Or better yet, is there another way to decipher the ciphertext?
(Although your question is for a long time ago) Transposition ciphers don't change the frequency of letters in their ciphertexts. So, you can implement a frequency attack. For decryption by this you only need the table of frequency of English letters and your ciphertext.
(Your encryption scheme here is a Columnar transposition with a key that all its letters are in order except 2 of them.)