Amateurs Crack German WWII Ciphers Thursday, March 2, 2006
Posted by jamshaid in Computers, Science & Technology.trackback
One of the three unsolved complex ciphers encoded by a new version of German Enigma machine in 1942 has been cracked by online amateur cryptologists. It has been solved using a code breaking-software run on a grid of home computers linked through internet. This attempt was started by Stephen krah who is interested in cryptography and open source software. The project named “Project M4” by Krah has 2,500 participants now.
The encrypted cipher which doesn’t make any sense is,
“NCZW VUSX PNYM INHZ XMQX SFWX WLKJ AHSH NMCO CCAK UQPM KCSM HKSE INJU SBLK IOSX CKUB HMLL XCSJ USRR DVKO HULX WCCB GVLI YXEO AHXR HKKF VDRE WEZL XOBA FGYU JQUK GRTV UKAM EURB VEKS UHHV OYHA BCJW MAKL FKLM YFVN RIZR VVRT KOFD ANJM OLBG FFLE OPRG TFLV RHOW OPBE KVWM UQFM PWPA RMFH AGKX IIBG”
and the cracked cipher after translation to English is very informative,
“Forced to submerge during attack. Depth charges. Last enemy position 0830h AJ 9863, [course] 220 degrees, [speed] 8 knots. [I am] following [the enemy]. [barometer] falls 14 mb, [wind] nor-nor-east, [force] 4, visibility 10 [nautical miles].”
It is believed that Enigma machine was “the backbone of German military and intelligence communication”. During the war, British team of codebreakers based in Bletchley Park were trying to decipher Enigma ciphers. They decoded thousands of these encrypted messages using early computers inorder to “head off U-boat attacks.
The unsolved cipher no.2 is,
“TMKF NWZX FFII YXUT IHWM DHXI FZEQ VKDV MQSW BQND YOZF TIWM JHXH YRPA CZUG RREM VPAN WXGT KTHN RLVH KZPG MNMV SECV CKHO INPL HHPV PXKM BHOK CCPD PEVX VVHO ZZQB IYIE OUSE ZNHJ KWHY DAGT XDJD JKJP KCSD SUZT QCXJ DVLP AMGQ KKSH PHVK SVPC BUWZ FIZP FUUP”
You can join the deciphering team in the Project M4 by allowing your computer to be used by the project.
I am always fascinated by cryptography and infact I attempted to make a program which would encrypt a message. I know the real cryptography involves lots of mathematics but I used a very simple method. Here is the screenshot of it:
The cryptogram of this line looks something like this;
UAO1#19A:1Z1/0DAW1[CT0[1>B;1D1SBEA41BBBB
LAX1Z0@060?0,1FCMB&AQA@1*1JCT0?1UA"1,1=CK0K
1^AV1M1W121BA2A,1V1(A*1]1.AQ1-17CMB4A 030&AZ0A060!B:B+BE1&AQBGB+A^C:1+C,0K0T1J1 0G0>1(1R1JB]A*C/BYA50RAFB(1N0!060PB]B$BZ1
(A-B-1IC]0)AB050CCCBB140X0BA7B8A$C0J1:1)1EB
+ACC=0,0AAE050=0.BGB2B,1:A1!AWB,0,C-CBA+1]
1DB-000\B6AA1K19A-1TCDB-0,0$C%A.B20!B^BCA
Can anybody decipher this?;
MAG1%1AA(1G1.13B7AL0YA$1J1C0,A70GA>CRBV1)1TC?A\
0N1KC!AUA*C218A(121AC
A/AI1/1VA#161″1-0[AH0DB)CZA5ACB1A
0F0#0MC*CQBQ121=070O1*C.0,0+0NC4C/BF0]B9A!C”0T0R
C4C4B]1-C”B,15BKA[05B%A+C#C”B$0KBJA
A$C+BF000NBDA*C&CZA
W1^0=BZAQ0)0LB1ACC*C=BE1:1′A$BZBIA8C:1ZC+05AN0\
0ACXB/1K1?0W0S1J141 1MCN0(BF1J1906C41OAM0;0>
0&C91K0/0(B5CUA!0202B%C
QB’A116B1A!0&0Y0CC
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asdas: wowww!
wow bcoz its too long and i don’t know what u have written, doesn’t make any sense. Which language is this?
you can take hint from the example just above the cryptogram.
the cryptogram of the sentence :
“The cryptogram of this line looks something like this”
is :
“UAO1#19A:1Z1/0DAW1[CT0[1>B;1D1SBEA41BBBB
LAX1Z0@060?0,1FCMB&AQA@1*1JCT0?1UA”1,1=CK0K
1^AV1M1W121BA2A,1V1(A*1]1.AQ1-17CMB4A 030&AZ0A060!B:B+BE1&AQBGB+A^C:1+C,0K0T1J1 0G0>1(1R1JB]A*C/BYA50RAFB(1N0!060PB]B$BZ1
(A-B-1IC]0)AB050CCCBB140X0BA7B8A$C0J1:1)1EB
+ACC=0,0AAE050=0.BGB2B,1:A1!AWB,0,C-CBA+1]
1DB-000\B6AA1K19A-1TCDB-0,0$C%A.B20!B^BCA”
I want to add that polish, not british, mathematics deciphered the Enigma Machine
Greatings from Poland.
What language did you write the program in? Can we have the source code? (Not to figure out the problem, but to make our own?)
Nick, I wrote the program in Visual Basic 6.0. I will try to somehow make the source code available. They are in visual basic project file and i can’t upload it here.
asdas’ comment is simply random pieces of the standard Lorem Ipsum dummy text (http://www.lipsum.com/) used for the past 500+ years by typesetters. Its origins are believed to be 2000 years old as part of an ancient Latin script (“de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum”) written by Cicero in 45 B.C…