Three-Rotor Enigma Machine Up for Auction Today
Sotheby’s is auctioning off a (working, I think) three-rotor Enigma machine today. They’re expecting it to sell for about $200K.
I have an Enigma, but it’s missing the rotors.
Entries Tagged "history of cryptography"
Page 5 of 13
The Women of Bletchley Park
Really good article about the women who worked at Bletchley Park during World War II, breaking German Enigma-encrypted messages.
EDITED TO ADD (7/13): There’s also a book: The Debs of Blechley Park and Other Stories, by Michael Smith.
NSA Documents from before 1930
Here is a listing of all the documents that the NSA has in its archives that are dated earlier than 1930.
Friedman Comments on Yardley
This is William Friedman’s highly annotated copy of Herbert Yardley’s book, The American Black Chamber.
Enigma Machine Sold for Almost Half a Million Dollars
A fully functional four-rotor Enigma machine sold for $463,500.
Wow.
Voynich Manuscript Facsimile Published
Yale University Press has published a facsimile of the Voynich Manuscript.
The manuscript is also available online.
1981 US Document on Encryption Policy
This was newly released under FOIA at my request: Victor C. Williams, Jr., Donn B. Parker, and Charles C. Wood, “Impacts of Federal Policy Options for Nonmilitary Cryptography,” NTIA-CR-81-10, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, US. Department of Commerce, June 1981. It argues that cryptography is an important enabling technology. At this point, it’s only of historical value.
German Cryptanalysis of the M-209
This 1947 document describes a German machine to cryptanalyze the American
EDITED TO ADD (5/14): German attacks on the M-209.
Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.