Knowledge (XXG)

Known-plaintext attack

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466:, National Security Agency (NSA), Volumes I, 1973, partially released 2008, additional portions declassified October 14, 2015, Quote: The KL-7 "was our first machine designed to serve very large nets which could stand matched plain and cipher text. For the first time, the man in the cryptocenter could take a message and simply type it into the machine as written, without changing the spacing between words, or cutting the message in half and sending the last part first. and without having to paraphrase the message text before it was released." 120:, but if they had a clue about some word or phrase that might be expected to be in the ciphertext, they would have a "wedge," a test to break into it. If their otherwise random attacks on the cipher managed to sometimes produce those words or (preferably) phrases, they would know they might be on the right track. When those words or phrases appeared, they would feed the settings they had used to reveal them back into the whole encrypted message to good effect. 215:, for their most sensitive traffic. These devices were immune to known-plaintext attack; however, they were point-to-point links and required massive supplies of one-time tapes. Networked cipher machines were considered vulnerable to cribs, and various techniques were used to disguise the beginning and ends of a message, including 131:
team would guess some of the plaintext based upon when the message was sent, and by recognizing routine operational messages. For instance, a daily weather report was transmitted by the Germans at the same time every day. Due to the regimented style of military reports, it would contain the word
136:(German for "weather") at the same location in every message. (Knowing the local weather conditions helped Bletchley Park guess other parts of the plaintext as well.) Other operators, too, would send standard salutations or introductions. An officer stationed in the 71:
A plain language (or code) passage of any length, usually obtained by solving one or more cipher or code messages, and occurring or believed likely to occur in a different cipher or code message, which it may provide a means of
127:, the German High Command was very meticulous about the overall security of the Enigma system and understood the possible problem of cribs. The day-to-day operators, on the other hand, were less careful. The 174:
agents sent a message (written by the British) to their respective handlers, they frequently obligingly re-encrypted the message word for word on Enigma for onward transmission to Berlin.
599: 151:, strenuous efforts were made to use (and even force the Germans to produce) messages with known plaintext. For example, when cribs were lacking, Bletchley Park would sometimes ask the 197:" was encoded at all positions in the plaintext. The catalogue included every possible position of the various rotors, starting positions, and keysettings of the Enigma. 204:
had likewise exploited "cribs" in the "ANX method" before World War II (the Germans' use of "AN", German for "to", followed by "X" as a spacer to form the text "ANX").
592: 167:, by obvious reference). The Enigma messages that were soon sent out would most likely contain the name of the area or the harbour threatened by the mines. 503:, "Summary of Our Methods for Reconstructing ENIGMA and Reconstructing Daily Keys, and of German Efforts to Frustrate Those Methods," Appendix C to 446:, "Summary of Our Methods for Reconstructing ENIGMA and Reconstructing Daily Keys, and of German Efforts to Frustrate Those Methods," Appendix C to 585: 219:
and adding nonsense padding at both ends. The latter practice resulted in an infamous incident during World War II when the nonsense padding "
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When a captured German revealed under interrogation that Enigma operators had been instructed to encode numbers by spelling them out,
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term referring to cheating (e.g., "I cribbed my answer from your test paper"). A "crib" originally was a literal or interlinear
675: 698: 428: 234:, introduced in the mid-1950s, was the first U.S. cipher machine that was considered safe against known-plaintext attack. 262: 164: 650: 640: 504: 478: 447: 244:
can be solved using a single letter of corresponding plaintext and ciphertext to decrypt entirely. A general
703: 628: 223:" was not nonsensical enough and was misinterpreted as part of the actual message, leading American admiral 463: 623: 78: 486: 483:
Enigma: How the German Machine Cipher Was Broken, and How It Was Read by the Allies in World War Two
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The Germans themselves could be very accommodating in this regard. Whenever any of the turned German
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needs several character pairs and some guessing if there are fewer than 26 distinct pairs.
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The idea behind a crib is that cryptologists were looking at incomprehensible
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text—that students might be assigned to translate from the original language.
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The Bletchley Park 1944 Cryptographic Dictionary formatted by Tony Sale, 2001
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Attack model for cryptanalysis with access to both plaintext and ciphertext
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World War II: Crucible of the Contemporary World: Commentary and Readings
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Smith, Michael (2006), "How It Began: Bletchley Park Goes to War", in
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A History of U.S. Communications Security; the David G. Boak Lectures
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are typically vulnerable to known-plaintext attack. For example, a
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occurring at the end of a message, is another well-known example.
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Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Codebreaking Computers
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Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Codebreaking Computers
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Michael Smith, "How It Began: Bletchley Park Goes to War," in
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reviewed decrypted messages and determined that the number "
489:, Frederick, MD, University Publications of America, 1984, 217:
cutting messages in half and sending the second part first
185:" ("one") was the most common string in the plaintext ( 421:
Alan Turing : life and legacy of a great thinker
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consistently reported that he had nothing to report.
560:"Nazi Code-Making Enigma Machine Is Up for Auction" 361:"Nazi Code-Making Enigma Machine Is Up for Auction" 189:). He automated the crib process, creating the 69: 67:decryption operation, where it was defined as: 593: 8: 520:The Hut Six Story: Breaking the Enigma Codes 305:The Hut Six Story: Breaking the Enigma Codes 419:Hofstadter, D.; Teuscher, Christof (2004). 600: 586: 578: 423:. Berlin New York: Springer. p. 455. 35:where the attacker has access to both the 338:. New York: M. E. Sharpe. p. 240. 293: 105:of a foreign-language text—usually a 7: 163:(a process that came to be known as 97:The usage "crib" was adapted from a 544:, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 207:The United States and Britain used 155:to "seed" a particular area in the 246:monoalphabetic substitution cipher 14: 59:. The term "crib" originated at 51:). These can be used to reveal 1: 558:Geggel, Laura (29 May 2019). 522:, Harmondsworth: Allen Lane, 359:Geggel, Laura (29 May 2019). 485:, edited and translated by 394:. New York: Arrow. p.  263:Cryptanalysis of the Enigma 720: 619: 511:, 1984, pp. 241–45. 193:, which assumed that " 90: 21:known-plaintext attack 699:Cryptographic attacks 334:Lee, Loyd E. (1991). 227:to change his plans. 211:systems, such as the 147:At Bletchley Park in 487:Christopher Kasparek 283:Ultra (cryptography) 278:Polish Cipher Bureau 268:Kiss (cryptanalysis) 454:, 1984, pp. 243–44. 505:Władysław Kozaczuk 479:Władysław Kozaczuk 448:Władysław Kozaczuk 225:William Halsey Jr. 138:Qattara Depression 686: 685: 641:Chosen-ciphertext 551:978-0-19-284055-4 538:Copeland, B. Jack 238:Classical ciphers 221:the world wonders 711: 667:Open key models 629:Chosen-plaintext 602: 595: 588: 579: 574: 572: 570: 554: 532: 516:Welchman, Gordon 467: 461: 455: 441: 435: 434: 416: 410: 409: 382: 376: 375: 373: 371: 356: 350: 349: 331: 325: 318:B. Jack Copeland 314: 308: 298: 88: 87: 85: 719: 718: 714: 713: 712: 710: 709: 708: 689: 688: 687: 682: 658:Known-plaintext 624:Ciphertext-only 615: 606: 568: 566: 557: 552: 535: 530: 514: 501:Marian Rejewski 475: 470: 462: 458: 444:Marian Rejewski 442: 438: 431: 418: 417: 413: 406: 384: 383: 379: 369: 367: 358: 357: 353: 346: 333: 332: 328: 315: 311: 301:Gordon Welchman 299: 295: 291: 254: 153:Royal Air Force 123:In the case of 95: 89: 83: 77: 76: 17: 12: 11: 5: 717: 715: 707: 706: 704:Enigma machine 701: 691: 690: 684: 683: 681: 680: 679: 678: 673: 665: 660: 655: 654: 653: 648: 638: 637: 636: 626: 620: 617: 616: 607: 605: 604: 597: 590: 582: 576: 575: 555: 550: 533: 528: 512: 498: 474: 471: 469: 468: 456: 436: 429: 411: 404: 377: 351: 344: 326: 309: 292: 290: 287: 286: 285: 280: 275: 270: 265: 260: 253: 250: 191:Eins Catalogue 142:"Heil Hitler," 129:Bletchley Park 94: 91: 74: 63:, the British 61:Bletchley Park 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 716: 705: 702: 700: 697: 696: 694: 677: 674: 672: 669: 668: 666: 664: 661: 659: 656: 652: 649: 647: 644: 643: 642: 639: 635: 632: 631: 630: 627: 625: 622: 621: 618: 614: 613:cryptanalysis 610: 609:Attack models 603: 598: 596: 591: 589: 584: 583: 580: 565: 561: 556: 553: 547: 543: 539: 534: 531: 529:0-7139-1294-4 525: 521: 517: 513: 510: 506: 502: 499: 496: 495:0-89093-547-5 492: 488: 484: 480: 477: 476: 472: 465: 460: 457: 453: 449: 445: 440: 437: 432: 426: 422: 415: 412: 407: 405:0-385-49532-3 401: 397: 393: 392: 391:The Code Book 387: 381: 378: 366: 362: 355: 352: 347: 345:0-87332-731-4 341: 337: 330: 327: 323: 319: 313: 310: 306: 302: 297: 294: 288: 284: 281: 279: 276: 274: 271: 269: 266: 264: 261: 259: 256: 255: 251: 249: 247: 243: 242:Caesar cipher 239: 235: 233: 228: 226: 222: 218: 214: 210: 209:one-time tape 205: 203: 202:Cipher Bureau 198: 196: 192: 188: 187:Benford's law 184: 180: 175: 173: 168: 166: 162: 158: 154: 150: 145: 143: 139: 135: 130: 126: 121: 119: 114: 112: 108: 104: 100: 92: 82: 81: 73: 68: 66: 62: 58: 54: 50: 46: 42: 38: 34: 33:cryptanalysis 30: 26: 22: 663:Side-channel 657: 567:. Retrieved 564:Live Science 563: 541: 519: 508: 482: 459: 451: 439: 420: 414: 389: 386:Singh, Simon 380: 368:. Retrieved 365:Live Science 364: 354: 335: 329: 321: 312: 304: 296: 236: 229: 206: 199: 194: 190: 182: 176: 172:Double-Cross 169: 149:World War II 146: 141: 133: 122: 115: 96: 86:, p. 22 79: 70: 65:World War II 40: 29:attack model 24: 20: 18: 671:Related-key 200:The Polish 179:Alan Turing 103:translation 53:secret keys 693:Categories 473:References 430:3540200207 118:ciphertext 57:code books 49:ciphertext 43:) and its 39:(called a 676:Known-key 651:Lunchtime 569:31 August 370:31 August 165:gardening 157:North Sea 47:version ( 45:encrypted 37:plaintext 646:Adaptive 634:Adaptive 518:(1982), 388:(1999). 307:, p. 78. 273:PC Bruno 252:See also 75:—  72:solving. 27:) is an 540:(ed.), 320:, ed., 93:History 548:  526:  509:Enigma 493:  452:Enigma 427:  402:  342:  134:Wetter 125:Enigma 289:Notes 258:Cadix 213:5-UCO 161:mines 159:with 111:Greek 107:Latin 99:slang 84:(PDF) 571:2020 546:ISBN 524:ISBN 491:ISBN 425:ISBN 400:ISBN 372:2020 340:ISBN 232:KL-7 230:The 195:eins 183:eins 55:and 41:crib 31:for 19:The 611:in 396:184 109:or 25:KPA 695:: 562:. 507:, 481:, 450:, 398:. 363:. 303:, 601:e 594:t 587:v 573:. 497:. 433:. 408:. 374:. 348:. 324:. 23:(

Index

attack model
cryptanalysis
plaintext
encrypted
ciphertext
secret keys
code books
Bletchley Park
World War II
The Bletchley Park 1944 Cryptographic Dictionary formatted by Tony Sale, 2001
slang
translation
Latin
Greek
ciphertext
Enigma
Bletchley Park
Qattara Depression
World War II
Royal Air Force
North Sea
mines
gardening
Double-Cross
Alan Turing
Benford's law
Cipher Bureau
one-time tape
5-UCO
cutting messages in half and sending the second part first

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