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The Secrets of the Chaocipher Finally Revealed

Posted by timothy on from the my-day-is-made dept.

nickpelling2 writes "In 1918, John F. Byrne invented a truly amazing cipher system, called 'The Chaocipher,' that fit inside a small cigar box, could be operated by a ten-year-old, yet produced practically unbreakable ciphertext (arguably even stronger than the Nazi Enigma machine). But now, thanks to the efforts of Chaocipher fan Moshe Rubin and the generous gift of Byrne's cryptographic effects by his daughter-in-law Pat Byrne to the National Cryptologic Museum, the secrets of the Chaocipher are finally starting to be revealed — it's a great story. To accompany Moshe Rubin's excellent textual description of the Chaocipher, I've posted a 30-second animation of the Chaocipher in action to YouTube, just in case anyone wants to see the most devious cipher of the 20th century in action (sort of)."

2 of 121 comments (clear)

  1. The 20th Century? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    AES came out in 1998.

  2. The really interesting thing about this machine by VORNAN-20 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    is that it can be built by anyone with intermediate carpentry/model-making skills. This is not the case with Enigma, for example, that is in the advanced electromechanical category. Definitely deserves an A for excellent design and first-rate results with minimally advanced technology.