Topic: Break the WWII pigeon code for bitcoin (Read 6130 times)

Expert dismisses claims WWII pigeon code has been cracked

I don't believe anybody has offered a reward to the first person who cracks it. What if some Bitcoin entity did such that via a press release? Wouldn't that bring awareness to Bitcoin, but in a better light than the Mitt Romney episode? I'm thinking Bitcoin 100.

Better yet, what if a whole slew of Bitcoin entities got on board, each offering a BTC100 reward/prize to the first person who cracks the Pigeon Code. Bitcoin Magazine could dedicate an entire article to such an endeavor, for it is crypto related. And every subsequent issue will have a paid ad offering up the reward, paid for equally by all the Bitcoin entities offering up the prize.

The list may look like the following:

Bitcoin 100
Butterfly Labs
Memory Dealers
Bitcoin Magazine
Bit Pay
Mt Gox
Seals with Clubs
Bit Brew
Bees Brothers
BitInstant
Casascius

Assuming 20 names on the list, that would equate to over a $25K prize, and the ad would only cost 1/20 the prevailing rate for each business on the list.

As long as there's at least 20 names on the list, there probably wouldn't be any problem with some advertisers bowing out every now and then. Then again, the list may grow, demanding a larger ad space, and less that each entity has to dole out to be placed on the list. And the list will be on the online version where each name is linked to their respected website. Looks to me like a win-win can't-lose proposition.

~Bruno K~

This dosent make any sense.
I could have invented a solution, too. After all in English there are more acronimous than words.

Cracked by a Canadian:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/12/18/toornto-carrier-pigeon.html

It supposedly says "artillery observer/spotter at K-sector Normandy"

Beside PABLIZ having six letters, while all the others have five (should be PABUZ), coupled with there not being any rhyme or reason for picking only those seven groupings, I would say this ain't it.

~Bruno K~

    AOAKN - Artillery Observer At "K" Sector, Normandy
    HVPKD - Have Panzers Know Directions
    FNFJW - Final Note [confirming] Found Jerry's Whereabouts
    DJHFP - Determined Jerry's Headquarters Front Posts
    CMPNW - Counter Measures [against] Panzers Not Working
    PABLIZ - Panzer Attack - Blitz
    KLDTS - Know [where] Local Dispatch Station
    27 / 1526 / 6 - June 27th, 1526 hours


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20749632

Did anybody notice that this message was sent twice? (see lower right of image)

Check out this link: http://www.ciphermysteries.com/2012/11/24/dead-ww2-cipher-pigeon-timeline

Yes, modern computers would not really help much. The mechanical computers they made could keep up with the cryptographers guess lists. A team of very smart people pouring over information about the time/place with acccess to reams of prior code data will get just a few of these codes regardless of computer power.

I doubt this will ever be broken because even if the key can be found/derived via cribs the work involved would be too much. With a provably unbreakable code system you can only do side channel attacks or attack flaws in the implementation.

The common form was a small book with the pages glued together at the sizes made of nitro paper. It burns completely and quickly. You take pages off the take when you used up your keys.

Yeah, but to do that you need a lot more cyphertext and a reasonable estimation of what parts of the plaintext would be.

Some of these were broken despite the fact the one time pad systems cannot be "broken" persay.

The combination of re-using keys, stolen code books and using the same prefix at the start of certain daily messages(like weather) they did manage to crack several messages using primitive purpose build computers.

If you can get access to all of the stolen/derived code data then you could run it all through and see if any decodes it. Otherwise forget about cracking it, you will get quotes from the bible before getting the real data.

All of this assumed a one-time pad. This does not look like a one time pad due to the uneven character distribution. Then again with such a small sampling such unevenness can happen in truly random data.

The uneven distribution could also be related to the fact the the "random" one time pads were often generated by mashing a keyboard. People tend to bias towards the middle of a keyboard, if the message had repeating characters then this bias would show through.

Nitrocellulose?

AOAKN HVPKD FNFJW YIDDC
RQXSR DJHFP GOVFN MIAPX
PABUZ WYYNP CMPNW HJRZH
NLXKG MEMKK ONOIB AKEEQ
WAOTA RBQRH DJOFM TPZEH
LKXGH RGGHT JRZCQ FNKTQ
KLDTS FQIRW AOAKN 27 1525/6

Possibly, but the numbers 1525/6 could have something to do with it? Like multiply 1525*6 1525+6 1525/6 etc  then change the text around depending on the results.

But I would have to assume that its more like 1525/6 is a section in a decoder book, that one person has, and once the letter is received, they destroy both. I wouldn't know I only learned about one time pads when I read the news article when it came out a few weeks ago hah..
Apparently these notes, and books, are highly flammable so if they were over-run, just give it some heat and its up in flames.

I just installed windows XP using the first row.


(I admit I plagiarized this =P)

My guess would be that spaces are removed in such a cipher to make it that much more difficult for an enemy to crack.  Once decoded, it is easy enough to figure out where the spaces should go.

OR, one of the letters represents a space.

They're grouped into 5's to be easier to read/decode without losing one's place.

If that's the case, then the numbers at the end of the message may be which pad to use to decode it.

Would somebody be kind as to explain to me (or others interested) as to why the length of the words(?) are all five letters long?

~Bruno K~

Unless they had a whole library of them, it isn't technically a one-time pad.

No, the recipient already has his copy of the OTP way way before any pigeons are ever sent.

How do we know for certain a OTP was used? If I read correctly, there were millions of messages sent via pigeons during WWII. To use a OTP, don't you have to sent a pigeon first with the key prior to sending the crypto message? If that's the case, then what happens if the other end doesn't get the key but only the message?

FYI: Did you know that some prisoners are using pigeons to get drugs onto the grounds? Who here is working on Silk Air?

~Bruno K~

Squab!