Enigma Cipher Machine

Paper Summary:

This paper describes the background and history of the German Enigma cipher machine from World War II. It discusses some of the machine's operation principles and its aims. It then discusses how the Polish, French and British were able to break the codes the machine created and eventually use the machine's short-comings against it.

Table of Contents:
Abstract
Introduction
Background and History
Deciphering the Enigma
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Because they were unaware of the extent of the British code breaking system, German officials made another fatal error in judgment that could have resulted in a much different outcome at the end of World War II. This is the use of the D reflector, of which the key was changed every ten days. This could have created a problem for code breakers, as the time factor would have made deciphered keys useless. Fortunately for the Allies, and unfortunately for the Germans, the D reflector proved too cumbersome to implement for all messages. Instead the B reflector was used by default, making the code breaker's task much easier."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Carlson, Andy. About Enigma and its Decryption. 2000. http://homepages.tesco.net/~andycarlson/enigma/about_enigma.html
• Cooper, Charles. The Enigma Machine. Probs and Stats, 16 April 2002. http://web.usna.navy.mil/~wdj/sm230_cooper_enigma.html
• Kozaczuk, Wladyslaw. The Origins of the Enigma/Ultra Operation. 2001. http://www.enigmahistory.org/text.html
• Lycett, Andrew. Breaking Germany's Enigma Code. BBC History, 4 Feb 2008. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/enigma_01.shtml
• Rijmenants, Dirk. The German Enigma Cipher Machine. 2004-2008. http://users.telenet.be/d.rijmenants/en/enigma.htm

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