Cryptography Reference
In-Depth Information
Breaking the German Enigma code by the Poles and British in World War II
was most important for the outcome of the war. A large part of Chapter 2 is
dedicated to this topic. But in England, too, it took some time until the British
admiralty recognized the value of their cryptanalysts, while they had a close
shave themselves: according to Kahn [KahnCode], it would have been pos-
sible for the German Wehrmacht to land in Great Britain (in fact, things had
been going according to plan!) — had the British not changed their own code in
time — for the Germans listened in on them. Later on things changed, not only
militarily: while the British managed to listen in on the Germans increasingly
faster, the German top echelon refused to consider that their Enigma cipher-
ing machine might
not
be infallible. Many insiders think that cryptanalysis
was decisive for the outcome of many wars. Kahn [KahnCode] even thinks
that cryptanalysis helped gain more information than all espionage activities
together. At least four events decisive for the outcome of World War II were
possible only by cryptanalysis. Among others, this includes the battle off the
Midway Islands, which prevented the dominance of the Japanese in the Pacific,
and the shooting down of Admiral Yamamoto's plane by the US air force.
However, the best example is the submarine war in the Atlantic. If the Enigma
hadn't been deciphered, the USA would probably have dropped nukes over
Europe. More about this in Chapter 2.
We may reasonably assume that militaries, national intelligence agencies, and
other organizations learned a lot from past errors. Otherwise, there wouldn't be
agencies like the NSA (National Security Agency), for example, which special-
izes in the 'surveillance' of global intelligence communication and cryptology,
among other things. Its largest listening-post outside the USA and Great Britain
is located in Bad Aibling in the south of Germany. Readers interested in the
details should look at Section 8.2.1.
You Have Information Worth Protecting
'I don't wage submarine wars, don't buy companies, and don't drill for oil',
you will say, 'What should I protect?' Well, consider the following points.
•
Any piece of information obtained in an unauthorized way that gives
clues on your financial situation can be dangerous for you. If you have
lots of money it will for sure. But even if you have no money it may: it
could interest a potential employer, or your landlord. This person doesn't
necessarily have to wiretap your line itself. Don't forget that information
(as opposed to tape recordings) won't change even after the 15th copying
between computers.
