Enigma
the most famous cipher machine in the world
The Enigma machines were a series of electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines developed and used in the early- to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic and military communication.
Enigma was invented by the German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I.
Early models were used commercially from the early 1920s, and adopted by military and government services of several countries, most notably Nazi Germany before and during World War II.
Several different Enigma models were produced, but the German military models, having a plugboard, were the most complex. Japanese and Italian models were also in use.
The Enigma was influential in the field of cipher machine design, spinning off other rotor machines.
The British Typex was originally derived from the Enigma patents;
Typex even includes features from the patent descriptions that were omitted from the actual Enigma machine.
The British paid no royalties for the use of the patents, to protect secrecy.
The Typex implementation is not the same as that found in German or other Axis versions.
A Japanese Enigma clone was codenamed GREEN by American cryptographers.
Little used, it contained four rotors mounted vertically.
In the U.S., cryptologist William Friedman designed the M-325, a machine logically similar, although not in construction.
History of TelecommunicationsThe Telegraph through Morse and Marconi How did you communicate before the radios? |
|
Paul Bennett..."I've been a little bit in your story.
Today I relived my story."... |