Major Update of the KL-7 Simulator

It's been more than three years now since I  released the first version of my TSEC/KL-7 simulator. Today, version 5.0 of this crypto machine, the first ever to combine rotor encryption technology with electronics, is definitely my favourite. Not in the least because I had to start from scratch, both historically and technically, when I decided to develop this KL-7 sim.

My first acquaintance with the KL-7 was years ago, on the battleship HMS Belfast in London, where it was displayed behind glass. For decades, this cryptologic Cold War beauty, developed by ASA and AFSA, and introduced by NSA in 1952, remained hidden under a veil of secrecy and there were no historical, scientific or technical publications whatsoever to start from. It's been quite an interesting journey before arriving at today's new version.

The project was one of evolution and updates, since we always strive to provide the most accurate historical and technical information. That's what makes the difference between a toy and a truthful simulation. The previous version, published in March 2011, finally worked as it should, at least when it came to machine output and graphics.

However, some details, names and procedures were still unknown. Also, the KL-7 sim's nuts and bolts were operated in exactly the same way as the real machine, and that's not really the impatient software user's cup of tea. A returning question was why it is so elaborate to work with these crypto simulations. Of course, the reason is that the software works exactly like the real thing. Otherwise, it wasn't a simulation.

Last year, Uri Blumenthal from MIT proposed to develop a JAVA version of my simulator which was  finished and published three months ago. However, since 2011, new information had been declassified, making an even more accurate simulation possible and providing new information to add to the historical sections of the sim's manual.

If it wasn't for Uri, I had never embarked on this new and sleep-depriving project to update the KL-7 sim. He wanted to update his JAVA version with the latest info and insisted not only to update mine too, but also to make both sims fully compatible. Of course, cryptographically, both sims were already compatible, but we now have the same key saving formats, have our procedures on par and offer similar software nuts and bolts.

We now both published our version 5.0, which is as complete and accurate as it can get. Here's a list of changes, applied on version 5.0 of the KL-7 Simulator:

• Renaming of rotor assembly parts and other components according to the real KL-7 manual
• Notch rings now set relative to the alphabet ring by letters, instead of against the core by numbers
• Added a 13th rotor, introduced in 1975
• All rotor cores interchangeable, also for the fourth rotor, which has to be equipped with a special "wide ring"
• Re-wrote  the encryption procedures according to the declassified KAO-41C/TSEC, corrected key sheet examples and revised the technical and historical sections of the manual.
• Saving and opening of key files in .txt file format *
• Set Mode for quick and easy adjusting of the rotor alignment (start position of the rotors) *
• A software zeroize button *
• Switching between letters and figures with either arrows Up and Down or the SHIFT *

* Not available on the real KL-7 machine.

The KL-7 simulator is an historical reference to a magnificent crypto machine and it's fun to use! The 21 page manual shows how to work with the simulator, how to encrypt messages, exciting example training messages straight from the Cuban missile crisis, the technical details, history on the development and use of the machine and, as such a notorious machine deserves, fascinating spy stories involving the KL-7.

The KL-7 simulator for Windows and JAVA KL-7 are available for download on Cipher Machines and Cryptology and, since history is there to share, it's freeware, as usual.

The Military Liaison Mission

SOXMIS Vehicle Report Card

After the Second World War, the British, American, Soviet and later the French allies agreed to accredit military liaison missions near the headquarters of each others occupation zones in Germany. On November 14, 1944, the first directives were written down in the London agreement of what later became an important tool to limit tensions during the Cold War.

The first Military Liaison Mission (MLM) was established in September 1946 between by the British and Soviet forces. The British Mission (BRIXMIS) was located in Potsdam, within the Soviet occupation zone which would later become the German Democratic Republic, commonly known as East Germany. Their Soviet Military Mission counterpart (SMM BAOR),  also known as SOXMIS, was consecutively located in Bad Salzuflen, Lübbecke and in Bünde, all inside the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) occupation zone in West Germany.

The U.S. and Soviet forces signed an agreement in March 1947. The U.S. Military Liaison Mission (USMLM) was also housed in Potsdam. Their Soviet Military Mission counterpart in the U.S. Amry Europe occupation zone (SSM USAEUR) had its offices in Frankfurt am Main.

The French and Soviet missions were established in April 1947, with the Mission Militaire Francaise de Liaison (MMFL) building in Potsdam and the Mission Militaire Sovietique (MMS CCFA) in the French occupation zone, Commandant en Chef Français en Allemagne (CCFA) in Baden-Baden.

The military liaison missions continued throughout the Cold War until 1990. Initially implemented for economical monitoring and a communications channel between the different allied powers in occupied Germany, the liaison's mission gradually changed into a military intelligence mission when tension rose between the West and the Soviet Union. To relief the Cold War tensions, the MLM's were used more and more to verify the build-up, movement of troops and their equipment in East and West Germany. This enabled them to see whether bilateral agreements regarding troops and equipment were respected.

No spooks allowed!

Although having a quasi diplomatic status - it was not allowed to stop their vehicles - they were forbidden to travel within certain, mostly military, restricted areas. They were always in uniform, drove official military vehicles with very recognisable licence plates and never carried weapons or radio equipment. Needless to say, the MLM's were not allowed to mount real intelligence operations. They never operated covertly but did get involved in clandestine actions.

Of course, to get the most interesting military intelligence, the rules had to be bent once in a while, in order to get the perfect photo of some new tank or aircraft. However, caution had to be taken to avoid creating tensions or jeopardise the MLM agreements. Nonetheless, several severe incidents occurred, even with fatalities, like USMLM Major Arthur Nicholson who was shot by a Russian guard at a Soviet tank storage building near Ludwigslust in East Germany.

USMLM Car in East German forest
Image: ColdWarSpies

Stationed in Germany, we were instructed to immediately report any SOXMIS vehicle we spotted. Undoubtedly, the same was done on Soviets side, and although the MLM vehicles were officially never stopped, they could "accidentally" receive a bump or got "unintentionally" pushed off the road. Although tensions could rise quickly in case of incidents, neither side was eager to blow up the liaison agreements as this would also deprive themselves from the opportunity to gather intelligence in the occupation zones of their Cold War enemy.

Despite the cat and mouse games on both sides, the Military Liaison Missions were an important contribution to the stabilisation of tensions during the Cold War, especially because they showed that the adversary was not gathering large offensive forces in East and West Germany, the Cold War frontier of Europe.

A detailed history of the U.S. Military Liaison Missions is found at the Cold War Spies website. The site also contains several audio interviews with former USMLM members and a large photo archive. They also have a History Section with several large pdf files. You also can visit the BRIXMIS Association, the MMFL Veterans (in French) and Unsichtbar Unterwegs in der DDR, a nice article on the challenges the MLM drivers faced during their missions (in German).

At the Spymuseum Spycast there are also two fascinating audio pod casts, one with Brigadier General Roland Lajoie in 2011 and one with Major General Michael Ennis last April. They both served in the USMLM. I recommend saving the large mp3 files before listening.

Below an interesting video of the Cold War Pioneers talk by Stephen Hoyt at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC).

Cold War Documentary

Cold War is an excellent and most comprehensive documentary series about the Cold War. From the roots of the Cold War to the fall of the Berlin Wall. It's all explained in detail in twenty-four 45 minutes episodes, that's no less than 18 hours. The numerous interviews with the main characters of the Cold War are most interesting.

To give a list of important events, featured in the documentary, would take far too long. Instead, I will provide a link to each of the episodes (Youtube) so that you can decide whether to view them all or jump directly to a Cold War period of your interest. Highly recommended!

1. Comrades (1917-1945)

2. Iron Curtain (1945-1947)

3. Marshall Plan (1947-1952)

4. Berlin (1948-1949)

5. Korea (1949-1953)

6. Reds (1948-1953)

7. After Stalin (1953-1956)

8. Sputnik (1949-1961)

9. The Wall (1958-1963)

10. Cuba (1959-1962)

11. Vietnam (1954-1968)

12. Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD 1960-1972)

13. Make Love Not War (1960s)

14. Red Spring (1960s)

15. China (1949--1972)

16. Détente (1969-1975)

17. Good Guys, Bad Guys (1967-1978)

18. Backyard (1954-1990)

19. Freeze (1977-1981)

20. Soldiers of God (1975-1988)

21. Spies (1944-1994)

22. Star Wars (1981-1988)

23. The Wall Comes Down (1989)

24. Conclusions (1989-1991)

Operation Tinker Bell Launched

Operation Tinker Bell, a new cryptologic challenge, has started on April 6. Unlike my Enigma and Crypto Box challenges, the participants have all required decryption tools and keys at their disposal. The goal is to decrypt the operational messages of a secret operation and follow the spy story, hidden in the messages.

Operation Tinker Bell starts on March 17, 1964, in the height of the Cold War, when KGB Colonel Alexander Rogozin decides to defect and CIA officer Robert Novak becomes his case officer. A first covert meeting between CIA operative Roman Danilov and Rogozin, scheduled on April 5, turns out disastrous. Danilov never returs from the meeting and there's no trace left of Ragozin. It appears that Danilov has been killed after a KGB staged false recruitment.

Novak's mission is to investigate the disappearance of Danilov and to track down Colonel Rogozin. Operation Tinker Bell, the hunt for Rogozin has started. It's a journey that will bring Novak all across the Soviet Union and Western Europe. For obvious security reasons, all communications between Langley, the CIA stations abroad and covert assets across the USSR are encrypted. You get the tools and the keys to decrypt those messages and read first-hand how the operation evolves.

Before joining Operation Tinker Bell, you should visit the operation's Briefing Room for all details about the operation and how to decrypt the operational messages. You will receive the personal files of all agents involved and you will have the Communications Center and the Crypto Room at your disposal.

Good luck with the operation, and watch your back!

OPERATION TURING

Story by Mitchel Thomas
Artwork by Indiana Popovich

In February, Mitchel Thomas and Indiana Popovich started a most unique project called OPERATION TURING. They are the first to blend a mysterious espionage story with the blistering pre-ware atmosphere of 1938 and encoded messages.

The British SIS, the American OSS and French DB have formed an Intelligence Task Force, code-named LABYRINTH, to identify the main threats to the Allies. Unfortunately, George Paxton, the original head of LABYRINTH, turned out to be a counter-intelligence agent of the German SS Sicherheitsdienst. One of the first priorities for the new head of LABYRINTH, SIS operative Peter Hansen, is to find Praxton and bring him to justice. Meanwhile, Paxton has his own agenda and forges some dark plans.

The story is cast into a weblog. After a brief introduction on OPERATION TURING, the reader is presented with various pieces of information: communications between the operatives by cable or radio, newspaper articles, photo's and Enigma encrypted messages. With each new blog post, a new bit of the hunt for Praxton and the battle between Allied and Nazi security services in unveiled.

Artwork by Indiana Popovich

The whole website breathes the atmosphere of shadowy operations in the pre-ware era. The images, black-and-white photos, old postcards, telegrams, maps and even 1938 PanAm flight tickets, combined with a beautiful art-deco background,  immerse you in that fascinating period at the brink of war.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a well brought and exciting story where Enigma messages play the smaller role, and not the other way around. Here, attention goes in the first place to the story-line, not to the tools to bring the story, and that's a great idea. Moreover, its a unique idea.

I can highly recommend a visit to OPERATION TURING, to absorb the story and atmosphere. Each new post brings new information in various forms. Often, there's and Enigma encrypted radio or cable message. The Enigma key sheets are provided and you can click your way to additional info and help. No codebreaking or cryptanalysis is needed, all settings to decipher the messages is provided.

However, being such a mysterious website, you should first continue reading here below, to understand how things work at OPERATION TURING. You might get lost in the fog of the shadowy world of intelligence and spies, when you're not 'in the picture'!

The newcomers on OPERATION TURING should first do some read-up before reading the episodes, published every few days. Warning: the most recent episode of the story is found first (weblog system). If you're new and want to start at the beginning of the story, you should go directly to the bottom of the main pages and click on the "=>Older" link your way through the blog pages to the oldest (first) message where the story begins.

There are three other pages that you can visit by links at the top of the page (under the green logo): You'll fist need a read-up at About Operation Turing to travel back to 1938 and to get familiar with the main characters. How to decode the messages provides the ways an tools to decipher the messages.

Transcripts and decoded messages is the spoiler page for those who really are unable to decrypt the messages (you should try, it's not that hard). However, only the decrypts of the previous month are provided. If you want to know right away how the story develops, you'll need to decipher the messages yourself. It does however pays off, as nothing beats the thrill of decoding a message and finally read its content. Finally, you can always go back to the main page by clicking the green logo (Enigma in circle).

Artwork by Indiana Popovich

I discovered the website by accident, as they linked to my Enigma software to enable decrypting some of the messages. However, the unique thing about OPERATION TURING is not the use of Enigma or some challenge to decipher encrypted messages. Enigma is merely a means to bring information to the reader. 

Mitchel and Indiana did a wonderful job on the story and the graphics. For the two friends, it all started years ago when they used coded messages to communicate, just for fun. A few years later, after graduation, they moved apart and brought the coded messages back to life to keep contact. To make thing interesting for themselves, they developed characters and a story-line which resulted in this jewel called OPERATION TURING.

I truly believe it deserves much more attention and readers than it was meant for. Their childhood pastime evolved into a unique and beautiful project. I'm sure Mitchel and Indiana will love your feedback (see their Inquiries link).

Rendez-vous at the OPERATION TURING website... and watch your back!

Update: I recently created OPERATION TINKER BELL, based on the original idea by Mitchel and Indy, about the 1964 hunt for a KGB defector. The Operation will soon start. Bookmark that page and get ready to track down Cold War enemies.

The Numbers Station Movie

A new movie called The Numbers Station, starring John Cusack and Malin Akerman, will be released in April. When Black Ops agent Emerson (John Cusack) is put aside, he's reassigned to a seemingly boring job. He should protect a remote CIA shortwave numbers station.

The station sends encrypted numbers messages through SW radio to agents in the field. Katherine (Malin Akerman) works at the station and is responsible for encrypting and announcing the messages over radio. What looked like a dull job turns into a nightmare when the station is ambushed and both have to fight for their life. Meanwhile, they discover that a series of messages has been sent to start a series of assassination.

To the layman, the story line might sound like absurd spy fiction. The truth, however, although seemingly less spectacular, is just as scary. Numbers Stations have been around since the Second World War and their use has grown exponential during the Cold War. They are more than real.

For those who think the Cold War is far behind us, think again! These stations still broadcast today in English, Russian, Chinese, Spanish and many other languages. The messages are destined to Intelligence personnel in foreign countries, Special Ops teams behind enemy lines, sleeper agents and...who knows. Several spies who received their operational instructions through numbers stations have been caught and convicted... also very recently.

Some believe that such shortwave espionage broadcasts are a thing of the past. However, these broadcasts have nothing but advantages. The operational messages are converted into numbers and encrypted before they are sent over shortwave radio. The shortwave broadcast travels around the world and no one can tell who is listening to them. Anyone with a small commercial SW radio can receive the message and decrypt it manually with a unique (mathematically unbreakable) one-time pad. No compromising equipment to be carried by the agent, no insecure communications channels to be used, unbreakable encryption. And even when all communications, telephone and Internet are down or unavailable, the messages still arrive. It's the ideal one-way method to send instructions.

Visit my website for more info on Numbers Stations and check out my one-time pad page, which explains how such numbers messages are composed and encrypted. Some very recent U.S. spy cases are documented in the paper Cuban Agent Communications. More on Numbers Stations and related spy cases is found on this weblog. Read about the movie at the Internet Movie Database or watch the trailer below.

Enigma World Code Group

Ham radio operator Bruce Culp N7CLH just announced the launch of the Enigma World Code Group. The website is created for people who want to learn about the famous German World War II Enigma code machine and to use an Enigma simulator to exchange coded messages with other members and friends in the group.

Real Enigma cipher machines are very rare and expensive, found only in a few museums and in private collections. However, today, several fully compatible Enigma simulations are available as freeware download on the Internet. You can also use these simulators to decrypt authentic wartime messages, today available with the original message keys.

Using a WW II cipher machine to encrypt or decrypt messages sounds pretty complicated? Think again! Bruce and Terry Culp did an excellent job in creating a website that clearly explains step by step how to send Enigma encrypted messages.

Over time, more and more Enigma enthusiasts have started to send Enigma encrypted messages to each other: collectors do it for fun, students and teachers learn about Enigma at school and want to try it themselves, on U-boat computer game forums they communicate with each other during virtual U-boat missions, and anyone with a technical mindset loves the technology behind this ingenious machine. They all love to work with this fascinating piece of wartime cryto gear.

Thanks to the Enigma World Code Group (EWCG), you can now team up and send messages as if you were a German signals operator yourselve. You can generate your own code books or use EWCG's standard U-571 code books. Visit the Enigma World Code Group, join the group today and enter the world of WW2 encrypted radio messages! Fun guaranteed!

KL-7 Simulator for JAVA Released

In 2012, Uri Blumenthal from the Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) offered to develop a JAVA version of my TSEC/KL-7 Simulator. This would allow its use on the various different platforms. Uri's compatible simulation is patterned on my KL-7 Sim and uses the same truthful GUI. However, all credits go to Uri, because his JAVA version required a complete re-write of the source code from the ground up.

Now, after months of hard work, Uri has released the fully functional version 3.8 to the public. This JAVA KL-7 Simulator finally also enables users of systems, other than Microsoft, to work with this famous Cold War crypto machine.

The TSEC/KL-7, codenamed ADONIS or POLLUX, is an off-line rotor cipher machine, developed in the late 1940's by the American Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA) and introduced by the newly formed National Security Agency (NSA) in 1952. The KL-7 is one of those Cold War beauties with a remarkable history and the simulation was developed to keep the KL-7 and its history alive.

You can download Uri Blumenthal's JAVA KL-7 Simulator as jar file from my Dropbox (updated v3.8b - 18 March 2013). All it requires is JAVA, which is usually already installed by default on your computer (see JAVA website for free download). The simulator includes an extensive 30-page manual.

More information about the TSEC/KL-7 is found on the KL-7 webpage where you can also download my KL-7 Simulator for Windows. Another excellent source of information on this remarkable machine is the Crypto Museum's KL-7 page.

Enigma Challenge Update

The Enigma Simulator

William and Alice Thomas, two retired U.S. Navy cryptologists, successfully completed the Enigma Challenge on January 10, 2013 as a husband-and-wife team. They are the 38th to solve all ten messages. It was their love for WW2 history that drew them into this challenge and it was an honor for me to receive them in the challenge.

History is important to all of us, but especially to cryptologists, because it is by learning how crypto systems worked in the past that they can both improve their own systems and exploit those of the adversary. The history of the German Enigma machine, which played a major role in WW2, is probably the most important example of cryptology and its power, and this initiated the extensive use of Signals Intelligence in modern warfare.

Meanwhile, the Enigma Challenge is running for almost seven years. Here are some statistics: in 82 months, 209 competitors from 35 different countries entered the challenge. I received 1278 correct message solutions, which is an average of 15 per month (yes, that kept me busy :-). Until now, 18 percent of the participants solved all ten messages. Some worked day and night to solve the messages in only a few days. Others took weeks, months or even more than a year to finish the challenge, depending on their available free time and how much sleep they wanted to sacrifice.

47 percent correctly decrypted at least 7 messages, which shows that everyone with a bit of perseverance can get pretty far in this challenge. All kinds of people have entered the challenge: students, technicians, farmers, computer programmers, school teachers, writers, military, radio amateurs and many others. Their age ranged, as far as I know, from 12 to 85 years.

The statistics show that cryptology and codebreaking are quite popular. This always amazed me, since cryptology is often regarded as a boring and obscure science for geeks (just mention crypto to your neighbour and you know what I mean). However, the Enigma challenge and the number of visitors on my website proved the contrary. You don't need to be a genius or maths geek to enter the challenge and it’s really fun to do. Nothing beats the thrill of finally discovering readable text in a cryptogram.

I also discovered that my Enigma simulator is used by many teachers in high schools and universities to initiate their students in the world of ciphers and codes. Cryptology and the world of the military secrets and intelligence is an exciting way to get young people interested in maths. I'm pleased to see that the challenge continues to attract both young and old. The complete Table of Honor is found on the Enigma Challenge page. The freeware Enigma Simulator, the Enigma Challenge and much more information on cryptology is found on the Cipher Machines and Cryptology website, and don't forget... crypto is fun!

Why Do We Need The Military?

Another year is coming to its end and all those who believe there's another day to live after the Maya calender might think about what to wish for the next year. World peace is surely ranked somewhere at the top of the wishing list. There are however different opinions on how to achieve that goal. Probably not too many would immediately think about the military, since war has little to do with peace. Does it?

I invite everyone to view the following video. Lieutenant General Peter van Uhm, army commander of the Netherlands, explained during a 2011 TEDex talk (in English) why armed forces are needed to support peace and stability. His talk also reminds everyone, also the pacifist who can speak, enjoy education and travel freely without fear, to respect and support those who risk their life for freedom.

You might think it's easy for a General to speak fancy words about sacrifice and the price to pay for freedom. Well, he knows exactly what he's talking about. Three years before this talk, First Lieutenant Dennis van Uhm, his 23 years old son, was killed in Afghanistan.

The biggest opponent of war is the soldier, for he knows what war can cause. I'm convinced that LTG Peter van Uhm represents that category of soldiers and veterans.

I would like to share with you another video, from Vukovar in the 1990s. Once a beautiful historical city in Former Yugoslavia and now part of Croatia, this city is no more than 1200 kilometers away from Belgium, my peaceful country in Europe. Back then, we were stationed in Vukovar, to keep Serbs and Croats apart. I can assure you that everyone, who has witnessed at first hand what war can do, becomes an advocate of peace.

Let's hope for the best in 2013!