By the end of the 19th Century, Cryptography had been rendered easily breakable, though the Telegraph had sped up the ability to transmit messages by wire. In 1896 Guglielmo Marconi filed his 1st Patent for his new invention, the Radio. Nicolai Tesla also invented the Radio but was not credited for it at the time. Signals could now be sent between two distant & isolated locations. Radio Waves bouncing off the Ionosphere, which acts as a mirror, & then off the Earths surface allowed direct communication anywhere on the planet. This was a great advantage for the Military but also a weakness because the Radio Signals could be exploited by an enemy who could now pick up Radio Waves emanating in all directions. Cryptographers had to create Codes, as they had in the past when messages were mostly on paper; to prevent the enemy from deciphering messages.
THE BLACK CHAMBER
Herbert Yardley met Ralph Van Deman when he entered WWI. Van Deman recognized Yardley’s proficiency at Code Breaking & made him Chief of the MI8 Code Section. He Commanded the MI8 Military Intelligence Wartime Cryptologic Section. Having served previously in the State Department as a Code Breaker, Yardley had amused himself deciphering incoming Telegraph Messages. He discovered there that American Secrets were easily De-Coded. His vast experience & proficiency clearly established him as one of the main experts in Cryptology.
The Cipher Bureau was created in May 1919 by the Acting Secretary of State & Secretary of War. It concentrated on Diplomatic Decrypts. Yardley, as chief of this organization, operated out of New York City. It was disguised with a Cover Operation which allegedly compiled Commercial Codes for banks & businesses.
The Washington DC Conference of 1921-22 resulting from the 5 Power Naval Treaty was concerned with limiting Post WWI activity in order to head off the Arms Race. It was at this Conference when Yardley solved the Japanese Conference Representative’s Cipher. The Cipher Bureau was very efficient & solved some 45,000 Cryptograms in a Decade. These Codes were broken by a small staff of only 20 Cryptoanalysts.
Declaring that “Gentlemen do not read other Gentlemen’s mail”, the Secretary of State under President Hoover, Henry Stimson, terminated the Cipher Bureau. The NSA, in its online Historical Papers, maintains it was shut down because of Budget concerns, while the US Government claimed it was shut down because of the need to” Act in Good Faith” since the War was over. The NSA also cites the development of the Armies Cryptologic Unit as further reason for the Bureau’s shut down. In May 1929, the Signals Corp became responsible for all Military Intelligence Cryptology.
Herbert Yardley wrote about the Cipher Bureau first in a serial form in the Saturday Evening Post, & then as a book, “The American Black Chamber”. In 1932, the book was a best seller, & henceforth the Cipher Bureau was known as The Black Chamber. Though attacked by Military Cryptoanalysts for publishing his book, Yardley defended it stating that his ” motive was only to alert the US to the weakness of its systems, & to the power of Cryptoanalysis. What he could do” he said, “people in other Nations could also do”. The Black Chamber will be remembered as the first National Civilian Intelligence Agency.
In 1929, the Personnel of the Signals Intelligence Agency which followed the Cipher Bureau were trained for Wartime Cryptoanalysis. William Friedman had been a Lieutenant in the Army during WWI, where he served in France solving German Codes. Friedman is credited for training the SIS in Codes & Ciphers using Yardley’s Black Chamber Methodologies. Soon they were studying what was thought of, according to the NSA, as the ” future of Cryptography”, the Machine Ciphers.
The SIS belonged solely to the Signals Corp & not to the Army, though they compiled Systems for the Army’s use. The SIS was renamed the Signals Security Agency (SSA) in 1943. In September 1945, it became the Army Security Agency, & was officially centralized under the Army.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CRYPTOGRAPHIC MACHINES
The Cipher Disc had been around since the 15th Century, & Leon Alberti is credited for its invention. It was a simple machine consisting of two round plates or discs (Scramblers), with Alphabets on them. By rotating the Alphabet Discs, a Key Word could be lined up with the outer Alphabet Disc. The Key Word would be represented by the inside, or bottom disc, to encipher a message to send; while reversing the process deciphered a message.
Though Pencil & Paper Encryption was used during WWI, by 1918 a new form had been created. The new Encryption Machine was invented by the German Inventor, Arthur Scherbius & was called, the Enigma. (It was called this for a very good reason, as it was quite the challenge. For years, solving it remained a mystery.). It was, practically speaking, an electrical version of Alberti’s Cipher Disc System, but with 3 Discs. The Machine’s use followed an initial commercial, & inferior version of the Enigma Machine. This was, however, too expensive for commercial purposes & cost about $30,000 by today’s standards.
During WWI a drowned German Naval Officer found on a sunken U Boat by Russian Admiralty was discovered with a German Cipher & Signal Books held in rigamortis to his chest. The Russian Admiralty de-coded a substantial portion of German Naval Messages using these Documents. The Russians relayed the Documents to Winston Churchill, who published them in his book, “The World In Crisis”, in 1923. This ability to decrypt the German Codes gave the Allies a sizeable advantage. Codebreaking, during WWI, had become proficient, yet the solution sought was in the cracking of the German Enigma Machine. Its level of Encryption was unparalleled & the most secure Cryptography in the world.
in 1931, Hans Thilo Schmidt worked for the German Command Center for Cryptology, & he passed photos of Documents with instructions on how to use the Enigma to a French Secret Agent, Code Named -Rex. When WWII started, the Allies were able to reproduce the Enigma. Messages, however, it could not be deciphered without the Key. According to Simon Singh in ” The Code Book”, “The Key was the element that turns the general Encryption Algorithm into a specific method for encryption. Though the enemy may know the Encryption Algorithm used by both sender & receiver, they must not be allowed to acquire the Key.”.
The Allies raids on German U Boats & captured Code Books gave the Bletchley Park Cryptology Department of Great Britain access to U Boat locations. The Battle of the Atlantic now favored the Allies. To prevent the Germans from becoming suspicious, since if they knew about captured “Code Books” they would change & upgrade their Enigmas, the Allies could not act on all the information that Bletchley Park had decrypted. The British had by now had sunk many U Boats & captured more Code Books, giving them access to even more U Boats. They had to let some escape. This bluff worked, & the Germans never discovered the capturing of the Enigma Plans & Code Books. The ability to break the German Code is cited as a major reason that the Allies/US won WWII. According to Sir Harry Ainsley discussing British Code Breakers during WWII, “the War, instead of ending in 1945, would have ended in 1948 had the Government Code & Cipher School (in Englands Bletchley Park) not been able to read the Enigma Ciphers & produce the ULTRA Intelligence.”. (ULTRA was the Codename for the Intelligence Operation that emerged from breaking the Enigma Cipher, & deciphering Italian & Japanese Messages.).
BLETCHLEY PARK PERSONNEL
The dedicated Personnel at Bletchley Park worked night & day solving Codes to prepare the Allies for major moves during WWII, though these preparations were kept Secret even from them. The State of Readiness of this irreplaceable & proficient Agency went unnoticed & uncredited for many years. One individual at Bletchley Park who deserves credit for cracking the Enigma, & who created the ” BOMB” to decrypt codes used by the enemy during WWII, was Alan Turing. Mr. Turing’s work was the prelude for the modern computer. Successful at Cambridge & a Fellow at King’ College, he lived the life of a noted Academic & Scholar. His work at Bletchley Park conversely, was conducted in absolute secrecy & silence. On June 7, 1954, shamed for Homosexuality & depressed, Mr. Turing committed suicide at the age of 42; without having received any credit for his important role in the winning of WWII. He had eaten a cyanide-laced apple & was found dead in his bedroom. Friends & Colleagues of Mr. Turing later recalled that 20 years earlier he had repeated the chant from a 1938 film, ‘Snow White & the 7 Dwarfs, “Dip the Apple in the Brew. Let the Sleeping Death Seep Through!”. Mr. Turing it seems was Cryptic to the very End!
All of these Codebreakers lived the rest of their lives in total & sworn secrecy until the early 1970s. Captain F.W. Winterbottom petitioned the British Government that since the Enigma Machines were no longer used, & since Bletchley Park was shut down, that nothing would be gained by hiding how Great Britain had Cracked the Enigma. The Book Winterbotham wrote, titled ” The Ultra Secret” was published in 1974, & signaled the Bletchley Park Personnel that they could “now openly discuss” their Wartime Activity. Many never discussed it, dying without giving away their Secret.
THE CODETALKERS
Though Cipher Machines & their Operators may be credited for winning WWII, one might say that “for winning the smaller battles” they were “too slow” to be entirely useful. The US Marine Corp came to the rescue with the Navaho Code Talkers. 28 Navaho Men were enlisted into the Marines & given an 8-week Communications Class. After the Bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Japanese were unable to break through the Navaho Language of either Sender or Receiver used by the Code Talkers. One might say this was a successful example of an Operation achieved by Human Sources, employing a Language used out in the open, spoken over the radio which only a handful of listeners understood, & certainly not the Japanese. One of the Code Talkers was a Navaho Man named John Pinto, who also served as a longtime Senator for New Mexico. Mr. Pinto recently passed away over the Memorial Day Weekend of 2019. Thank You for Your Service, Mr. John Pinto!
THE RED AND THE PURPLE
In 1935, the Japanese Foreign Ministry had turned to Machine Systems to encipher messages & developed “the Type A Machine” to protect communications. The Signals Intelligence Service (SIS) nicknamed the Cryptosystem “Red”. The translation of Red Messages in 1938 gave the US details of a Secret clause in the Anti-Cominterm Pact between Germany, Italy & Japan which committed each of these Countries to support the others in War, ” regardless of the circumstances.”. This turned out to be very important in understanding Japans role in WWII. The US’s close access to Japans Government Policy ended when the Japanese began to use a new Crypto Device called the “Type B Machine,” nicknamed the “Purple” by US Army Cryptanalysts.
The Japanese used both the “Red” & the “Purple” simultaneously. Though good Intelligence was collected & decrypted from the “Red”, the US still had to decipher data encrypted on the ” Purple”. The Japanese considered the encrypted data on the “Purple” to be their most important Intelligence during WWII. US Cryptanalysts discovered that the “Purple” as used by the Japanese had a weakness, which allowed them to break the Japanese Code. It seems that the “Purple” split Japanese syllables into vowels & consonants. This, & one other weakness, a Procedural mistake made by the Japanese, was a dead giveaway of their Intelligence to the US. The Procedural mistake the Japanese made was to use both the “Red” & the “Purple” Machines at the same post. They often sent the same messages at once on both systems, as they encrypted the US English Language Diplomatic Texts, easily identifiable to US Cryptanalysts.
Under the Direction of Mr. William Friedman, the solution to the “Purple” was made into a group effort. It is well documented in NSA Literature, that because Mr. Friedman liked to describe his Cryptanalysts as “Magicians”, he established the Code Word ” MAGIC” to mark his decrypts since they required special protection. In January 1941, by agreement, only 10 people had access to “MAGIC” Translations: The President, The Secretaries of War, Navy & State Chiefs of Staff, The Chief of Naval Operations, The Chiefs of the 2 Services, The War Plans Division, & The Chiefs of their Intelligence Organizations. “No Decrypts were distributed outside of the Continental US,” according to the NSA.
The NSA has a Note on their Web Page: “In the middle of WWII to avoid confusion the US adopted the British term ” ULTRA” for most decrypted Intelligence for High-Grade Systems; the Code Name “MAGIC” survived for daily summaries of some high-level Decrypts.” (NSA)
After the SIS solved the “Purple”, an SIS Electrical Engineer named Leo Rosen produced a Prototype for the SIS version of the ” Purple” which was called the “Purple Analog”. The Navy built 3 “Purple Analog’s” in its own facilities; they sent one to the Army & kept one for itself. The 3rd Machine was sent to Great Britain since the two Countries had co-operated closely in the Cryptologic effort during WWII.
THE COLOSSUS
The Invention of The “Colossus” Machine by Great Britain’s Max Newman & perfected by Tommy Flowers proved a revolution for Cryptology. Consisting of 1500 Electronic Valves, rather than the Electro-Magnetic Switches of early Wartime Cryptology Encryption Machines, The Colossus was much faster. The Colossus was the first Programmable Computer. The Colussus Blueprints were destroyed after War II, so others received the credit for its invention. Secret during the War, perhaps after the War the intention was simply to respect that Secrecy & so, it was kept Secret. This was part of the Distinction deliberately made between Wartime & Peacetime Surveillance Activity, unlike today. There was a Distinction between Foreign & Domestic Surveillance at the time but it was generally unquestioned by a Civilian Populace. The idea of a Government Spying on its own Citizenry was rare, given the Public Attitudes which did not acknowledge a never-ending War, with a front encompassing the entire World.
Since the time of the Colossus until today, the use of Computer Technology entirely changed Cryptology. The Computer was faster & could mimic the actions of hundreds of scramblers, unlike the mechanical Cipher Machines; & it scrambled Binary Numbers, rather than Alphabets.
FROM THE SIGNALS CORP TO TODAY’S NSA
In May 1929, the Signals Corp held a 2-week Training Program in Cryptologic work for Officers. Units were established to compile codes, to train to solve enemy codes in “times of War & to establish Intercept Services in the field.” (NSA). The Signals Corp interpreted the work of the Signals Intelligence Service, which was a part of the Signals Corp. The NSA stated the declaration of the Signals Corp mission: “All work of the Signals Intelligence Service (SIS) is to be organized on the basis of training for War, rather than that of Active Operations for immediate interception & solution of the Communications of foreign Armies & Governments.” (SIS/NSA). They did however, accept such data if it became accessible during training.
Trained by William Friedman, the Signals Corp stressed Cryptanalysis. The main duty was to compile Codes for Army use; however, Friedman’s training in Ciphers & Codes was rigorous. They were also made entirely familiar with Yardley’s Black Chamber Foreign Systems & Methods for solving them.
The Signals Intelligence Service was not attached to the Army but was Civilian. Military Intelligence considered Cryptanalysis an adjunct of Cryptography, & a part of the Signals Corp. The SIS’s duty was to compile systems for Army use, & to prepare Cryptanalysts for Wartime Operations. Their purpose was not conducting Foreign Intelligence. “The SIS was renamed the Signals Security Agency in 1943, & in 1945 became the Army Security Agency.” (NSA). The National Security Agency (NSA) became it’s own separate & independent agency in 1952.
During WWII the Signals Corp focused on Codebreaking & Code Cracking, especially Japanese Codes. As it developed under the Army & later as the NSA the focus was on Signals Intelligence, or SIGINT, the intercepting & processing of Foreign Communications (not only during Wartime), Cryptanalysis or Codebreaking, as well as Code Sending or Cryptography. Currently the NSA has expanded its Operations inside the USA, & onto US Citizenry, & includes “Surveillance Operations & Information Assurance.” (NSA)
FINI
Mother Goose Speaks 