[C O D E −c r a c k e r s ]

Sleuth Secret Master Spy

Feistel Cipher
Who uses secret messages?
Spies and the military use secret messages everyday to protect
their messages from others. The science of scrambling and un-
scrambling secret messages is called "cryptology." Can you guess
what a scientist who does scrambling and unscrambling is called?
A "cryptologist!"

When were secret messages first used?

The ancient Spartans were the first to use secret messages over
2000 years ago. The Spartans lived in Greece and were famous
for their discipline and courage.

How have secret messages been used?

In ancient Rome, over 2000 years ago, the leader Julius Caesar
used secret messages to write his friends. During World War Two
(1939-1945), Navajo-Americans in the U.S. Marines sent radio
messages using a special Navajo slang that was impossible for
the enemy to understand!

What about secret messages today?

Today, spies and the military are not the only ones to use scram-
bled messages. When someone uses a credit card, the infor-
mation is sent to the bank as a scrambled message. Just recently,
a kid in Ireland won tons of awards for inventing a new faster way
to send secret e-mail. CooL!

Where can I get more info?

Check out these books at your library. All these books are fun, re-
ally interesting, and no batteries required!
"The Secret Code Book" by Helen Huckle.
"The Cat's Elbow" by Alvin Schwartz.
"Pass It On!" by Sharon Bailly.
"Navajo Code Talkers" by Nathan Aaseng.
hp://www.thunk.com/
The Playfair Cipher
In 1854, Sir Charles Wheatstone invented the cipher known as
"Playfair," named for his friend Lyon Playfair, first Baron Playfair of
St. Andrews, who popularized and promoted the cipher. Its sim-
plicity and its cryptographic strength compared to simple substitu-
tion and Vigènere (a polyalphabetic substitution cipher) made it an
immediate success as a field cipher, used by the British in the Bo-
er War and the First World War, and by several armed forces as
an emergency back-up cipher in the Second World War. When Lt.
John F. Kennedy's PT-109 was sunk by a Japanese cruiser in the
Solomon Islands, for instance, he made it to shore on Japanese-
controlled Plum Pudding Island and was able to send an emergen-
cy message in Playfair from an A llied coast-watcher's hut to ar-
range the rescue of the survivors from his crew.

To encipher a message in Playfair, pick a keyword and write it into

a five-by-five square, omitting repeated letters and combining I
and J in one cell. In this example, we use the keyword MANCHES-
TER and write it into the square by rows. It may be written in any
other pattern; other popular choices include writing it by columns
or writing it in a spiral starting at one corner and ending in the cen-
ter. Follow the keyword with the rest of the alphabet's letters in al-
phabetical order.

M A N C H

E S T R B

D F G I/J K

L O P Q U

V W X Y Z

First we need to prepare the plaintext message for encryption. To

encrypt "THIS SECRET MESSAGE IS ENCRYPTED," break it up
into two-letter groups. If both letters in a pair are the same, insert
an X between them. If there is only one letter in the last group, add
an X to it.

TH IS SE CR ET ME SX SA GE IS EN CR YP TE DX
Now we encrypt each two-letter group. Find the T and H in the
square and locate the letters at opposite corners of the rectangle
they form:

[M O R S E−c o d e ]
. . N . H

. . T . B

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

Replace TH with those letters, starting with the letter on the same
row as the first letter of the pair: TH becomes BN. Continue this
process with each pair of letters:

TH IS SE CR ET ME SX SA GE IS EN CR YP TE DX

BN FR

Notice that S and E are in the same row. In this case we take

. . . . .

E S T . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

the letter immediately to the right of each letter of the pair, so that
SE becomes TS.

TH IS SE CR ET ME SX SA GE IS EN CR YP TE DX

BN FR TS

Now we see that C and R are in the same column. Use the letter
 -AULWEHQL QERDWID
8. UDHGDTJ, DEDHZRHWZ EJ IWDTRH, MIRZFNWT AOMRT-
TAEXW ORHTGWIT; FHAGWZ KAGV AG, TVW AT GVW OR-
GVWI RU GVW DIGT DHZ GVW RIAPAH RU ODIBWXT.
-PRJD
9. NI NY ZFGG IVRI ZRT NY YW IFTTNCGF, WT ZF YVWLGM
QFI IWW JWOM WJ NI.
-TWCFTI F. GFF
10. MUX LHPK JW E VHTJM HY GHNX MUX BIBHG JW MUX
XQX. MUX LJZX GHTUM QJI YUHPX JP HM, MUX LJZX HM
FHGG OJPMZEOM.
-JGHRXZ FXPKXGG UJGLXY, SZ.
. . . C .
. . . R .
. . . I/J .
. . . . .
. . . . .
immediately below each of these letters, so that CR becomes RI.
This is the last special case, and the encryption proceeds without
further incident.
TH IS SE CR ET ME SX SA GE IS EN CR YP TE DX
BN FR TS RI SR ED TW FS DT FR TM RI XQ RS GV
To decrypt the message, simply reverse the process: If the two
letters are in different rows and columns, take the letters in the op-
posite corners of their rectangle. If they are in the same row, take
the letters to the left. If they are in the same column, take the let-
ters above each of them.
The Double Playfair Cipher
The Double Playfair is an extension of the Playfair to use two sep-
arate keys and to encipher each pair of letters twice. The German
police made the mistake in late 1941 of switching from the rather
strong Double Transposition cipher to the more accessible Double
Playfair, and for over a year Bletchley Park was able to use these
decrypts to gain intelligence in areas not covered by Enigma or
other broken systems.
Like the Playfair, the Double Playfair cipher uses 5x5 squares. In
this case two keywords are chosen, and each square is filled in
the same way as the Playfair. For keywords HAMBURG and
NEWYORK written in rows and a spiral, respectively, we have the
squares:
 H A M B U N L I/J H G 4. N ISEZCMXNOTXC TZ N HNE GTOK OGS WCMPCIORA JSSL
R G C D E E M X V F
RCJZ GKS, KSGCXCM, KNZ ECXCM RCNMECL KSG OS
F I/J K L N W P Z U D

O P Q S T Y Q S T C
GNRF PSMGNML.
V W X Y Z O R K A B

Given the message "MY HOVERCRAFT IS FULL OF EELS," we -PMNEFRTE LCRNES MSSZCXCRO
begin by choosing a period or number of letters (say, seven), then
breaking the message into groups of seven letters, with the se-
cond below the first, the fourth below the third, and so on. If the 5. K LQNS NYU K JBSEQV. K MQQ NYU K SQXQXWQS. K UB
last group is incomplete, break it into equal pieces. If it has an odd
number of letters, add an X to fill it out.
NYU K GYUQSMVNYU.
MYHOVER FULLO

CRAFTIS FEELS
-RBYJGRKGM
We encipher each vertical pair. Find the first letter of each pair in
the first square and the second letter in the second square. The
next step is to find the letters at the opposite corners of the rectan- 6. U MIAIW WIZUZC CIOFCXCUNM, GISXVZI U DXAI LNVMJ
gle formed by the plaintext pair, starting with the ciphertext letter in
the second square. For the first pair MC, the result of this step is
GQ: CDXC CDUMHZ CDXC XWI GXJ LNW OI JN MNC CIOFC OI.

. . M . . . . . . G
-HINWHI GIWMXWJ ZDXP
. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .
7. OKU JLUO HEWBC SEH XUALG OKU JEDWOUH DW OKU
. . Q . . . . . . C

. . . . . . . . . . HUJHUCUWOEODLW LS RDCDXAU OKDWZC, EWQ SEH

The second step is like the first: Encrypt GQ by finding G in the

first square and Q in the second; MP are at the opposite corners. XUALG OKU FVCDIDEW DW OKEO LS DWRDCDXAU
Remember to take the first letter of the ciphertext from the second
key square, and the second letter of ciphertext from the first key
square. This completes the encryption of the pair MC. OKDWZC.
Cryptoquotes . . . . . . . . . .

. G . . . . M . . .

. . . . . . . . . .
1. IPIAL CFM O CIIZ OJ OM JYCI TFL CL JWDIAOYA.
. P . . . . Q . . .

-AFBDK TFBHY ICIAJYM . . . . . . . . . .

MYHOVER FULLO
2. RO AWBO W YZNDNGWH QKZE JEJCOD RANYA NJ JKSOZ-
CRAFTIS FEELS

M
NLZ CL WGE NG CAO RLZHT; WGT NCJ OIINYNOGYE NJ
P

LGHE DWZZOT PE CAO TNIINYKHCE LI INGTNGV CROHBO
DOG OBOZE TWE RAL TLG'C FGLR WGECANGV WGT
The next plaintext pair, YR, is on the same row. In this case we
take the letters to the left of each plaintext letter, again taking the
first letter from the second key square and the second letter from
the first key square, giving OX. The OX is then run through the
same process, resulting in SR.

YWG'C ZOWT. MYHOVER FULLO

CRAFTIS FEELS
-DWZF CRWNG

MS
3. KVRCFNK FZ GUR WTBE NWLTGCE GUKG XRTG DCWV
PR

HKCHKCFZV GW QRNKQRTNR XFGUWLG NFPFBFIKGFWT There are no other special cases, and the result is:

MYHOVER FULLO
FT HRGXRRT.
CRAFTIS FEELS

MSHMNAB MWBCS
-WZNKC XFBQR
PRRXWKW YEIWP

For transmission the ciphertext is written in groups of five:
MPSRH RMXNW AKBWM YWEBI CWSP
To decipher this, run each step backwards, paying close attention
to the order of each pair.
The Double Transposition Cipher
This was one of the most secure ciphers used in the WWII. It was
used by both the Allies and the Axis. Its main weakness was that
if the attacker intercepted two or more messages of the same
length using the same key, they could be compared by a process
known as "multiple anagramming," finding solutions to both. This
weakness was unimportant if only one message was sent using
each key. It had another problem: Using it correctly requires care,
leading to difficulties in decryption if an error is made at a sensi-
tive point. In the United States, information about cryptanalysis of
the cipher remained classified until a few years ago.
Double Transposition consists of two applications of columnar
transposition to a message. The two applications may use the
same key for each of the two steps, or they may use different
keys. Columnar transposition works like this: First pick a keyword,
such as DESCRIBE, then write the message under it in rows:
D E S C R I B E
---------------
Y O U R M O T H
have used MAHATUNDILA and CULLATINDILA as her double
transposition keys, but these do not result in a correct decryption.
Please try the usual variations—keys in wrong order, columns in-
terchanged, one key left off, and so on—and let me know as soon
as possible if you find the solution. If we cannot read it within a
fortnight, we must ask for a retransmission, which, of course, will
increase her risk substantially. No undecipherables!
Received message:
TADTN TPLIE RCENI SIITD ONMUN MTNSO LDMMB ENROH
SETLV EACES BCSNT OVDAR YSIST ENNES SFAOE SFNAT
UWHSO FLSGR TLUDG ETONI CRGLD ELIIR AETTP DHUDD
IOPHW FISOT ISOIV EDSSN TWOAO RESSA RSHEU NATNS
GOSRP RDIFN ESEEO ADUPT IRRSE PPRHM EMHVU NOIRO
DSEFR MCIIE
Jim Gillogly designs and implements cryptographic software. He recently made
headlines for solving a cipher on a sculpture at CIA Headquarters in Langley,
Virginia, and he also designed an attack on the Enigma cipher that can be exe-
cuted without knowing any plaintext. (Wartime cracks required some knowledge
of the text of one of the messages in the day's key.) Gillogly earned a Ph.D. in
computer science from Carnegie-Mellon University, is a recent past president of
the American Cryptogram Association, and has sung in Carnegie Hall with his
chamber music group.

E R W A S A H A

M S T E R A N D

Y O U R F A T H

E R S M E L T O

F E L D E R B E

R R I E S
Cipher #2
Now number the letters in the keyword in alphabetical order.
To: Col. Tiltman, Bletchley Park 3 4 8 2 7 6 1 5

This message was intercepted yesterday at a listening post near D E S C R I B E

Dover. Its frequency and indicators suggest similarities to previ-
ously broken communications intended for saboteurs in Britain. ---------------
Earlier messages in this format have been in English using the
Double Playfair system. They used "STOP" between sentences Y O U R M O T H
and "MESSAGE ENDS" at the end. Unfortunately, we can make
E R W A S A H A
no further guesses about the content. The earlier messages have
occasionally re-used Playfair squares; keywords used recently in-
M S T E R A N D
clude DUNDEEMARMALADE, YORKMINSTER, BRIGHT-
ONROCK, and BLARNEYSTONE. Previous messages suggest Y O U R F A T H
they are planning a coordinated sabotage effort later this year, so
if you could crack this within a fortnight we would be most grateful. E R S M E L T O

F E L D E R B E
Received message:
R R I E S
TYINP KPQOT YENSO IYOBO YRAKK SLSPP ZCDOA YSLPO
MXMNP PNXPT YCITT YQYBO ZRBIG MPLSE ZKCTX RCRQG
LEIKC RDMPP RTBNX WYWQG MDAYT GFVMF XEYSL LQNII
GIWRQ IGFEV NGDNN IOBDT MDPTT YXNKB UXEMW PPKPW
ST

Cipher #3

To: The Coders of Grendon

Ladies:

We received the attached message yesterday from agent Made-

leine. As you know, her situation in Paris is precarious, and she
has had to carry her wireless set with her everywhere. This mes-
sage may have been sent in haste, as we have been unable to de-
cipher it. Based on her poem and schedule I believe she should
Then read the cipher off by columns, starting with the lowest-
numbered column: Column 1 is THNTTB, followed by RAERMDE
YEMYEFR ORSORER HADHOE OAAALR MSRFEES UWTUSLI.
This completes the first columnar transposition. Next, select and
number a second keyword, and write this intermediate ciphertext
under it in rows:
2 7 1 8 9 5 4 6 3
C O A S T L I N E
-----------------
Crack the Ciphers
by Jim Gillogly
Here's your chance to crack ciphers similar to those Bletchley
Park's codebreakers faced during World War II. Below, we present
three ciphers of different levels of difficulty, from easiest to most
challenging. Cryptanalyst Jim Gillogly created them using the
Playfair, Double Playfair, and Double Transposition ciphers, re-
spectively. Good luck!
Cipher #1

T H N T T B R A E
To: Col. Tiltman, Bletchley Park

R M D E Y E M Y E This message was received by an intercept station in Scotland.

The frequency and format indicate that it is a most urgent mes-
F R O R S O R E R sage from one of our agents who landed a week ago in Norway.
His controllers have been unable to read it. Although it clearly us-
H A D H O E O A A es his backup cipher, the Playfair, the keys assigned to him do not
work. We cannot reach him before his normal scheduled transmis-
A L R M S R F E E sion in two weeks, so we urgently request that you attempt to de-
crypt this and let us know the contents. In case it helps, he is car-
S U W T U S L I
rying materials to assist a previously dropped team in their work
regarding the Norsk Hydro facility at Rjukan. His recognition code
Finally, take it off by columns again and put it into five-letter should appear in the message: It is "beware ice weasels." If he is
groups for transmission. operating under duress, he should include the phrase "red pen-
NDODR WTRFH ASEER AERMR OFLBE OERSA YEAEI
guin frenzy." He will use "STOP" between sentences and "END" at
the end.
HMRAL UTERH MTTYS OSU
Received message:

To decrypt a double transposition, construct a block with the right

number of rows under the keyword, blocking off the short columns.
Write the cipher in by columns, and read it out by rows. Lather,
rinse, repeat.
VYTES YEDLU TERVL FNVUH DWARD LCFFB SDEWN PXKIC
FTREO LKALZ YLSLT OBKEV LYARM KRBOD NALDY PLAET
OLQAD FHSFZ WNAID SMURU OLHRY LLOTW FYLDI CVLUS
VSSFZ YLUNF FXLKT GBCDO BFALE WRPFY WLHUL DARLI
TFLAB FFZCY FUUFB GXXXX