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Known-plaintext attack

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477:, 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." 131:, 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. 226:, 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 142:
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
147:(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 82:
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
138:, 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 185:
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.
162:, 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 208:" 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. 215:
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").
610: 178:, 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. 514:, "Summary of Our Methods for Reconstructing ENIGMA and Reconstructing Daily Keys, and of German Efforts to Frustrate Those Methods," Appendix C to 457:, "Summary of Our Methods for Reconstructing ENIGMA and Reconstructing Daily Keys, and of German Efforts to Frustrate Those Methods," Appendix C to 230:
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
560: 245:, introduced in the mid-1950s, was the first U.S. cipher machine that was considered safe against known-plaintext attack. 256: 661: 656: 538: 505: 414: 354: 644: 686: 17: 709: 439: 255:
can be solved using a single letter of corresponding plaintext and ciphertext to decrypt entirely. A general
234:" was not nonsensical enough and was misinterpreted as part of the actual message, leading American admiral 474: 273: 89: 494:
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 "
500:, Frederick, MD, University Publications of America, 1984, 242: 228:
cutting messages in half and sending the second part first
196:" ("one") was the most common string in the plaintext ( 432:
Alan Turing : life and legacy of a great thinker
151:
consistently reported that he had nothing to report.
571:"Nazi Code-Making Enigma Machine Is Up for Auction" 372:"Nazi Code-Making Enigma Machine Is Up for Auction" 618: 429: 701: 200:). He automated the crib process, creating the 78:decryption operation, where it was defined as: 604: 531:The Hut Six Story: Breaking the Enigma Codes 316:The Hut Six Story: Breaking the Enigma Codes 468: 430:Hofstadter, D.; Teuscher, Christof (2004). 611: 597: 434:. Berlin New York: Springer. p. 455. 46:where the attacker has access to both the 525: 349:. New York: M. E. Sharpe. p. 240. 14: 702: 568: 369: 592: 546: 395: 116:of a foreign-language text—usually a 174:(a process that came to be known as 108:The usage "crib" was adapted from a 555:, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 344: 218:The United States and Britain used 166:to "seed" a particular area in the 24: 257:monoalphabetic substitution cipher 25: 726: 70:. The term "crib" originated at 62:). These can be used to reveal 448: 423: 389: 363: 338: 321: 305: 13: 1: 569:Geggel, Laura (29 May 2019). 533:, Harmondsworth: Allen Lane, 483: 370:Geggel, Laura (29 May 2019). 7: 496:, edited and translated by 405:. New York: Arrow. p.  274:Cryptanalysis of the Enigma 262: 10: 731: 103: 630: 522:, 1984, pp. 241–45. 299: 204:, which assumed that " 101: 32:known-plaintext attack 710:Cryptographic attacks 345:Lee, Loyd E. (1991). 238:to change his plans. 222:systems, such as the 158:At Bletchley Park in 80: 498:Christopher Kasparek 294:Ultra (cryptography) 289:Polish Cipher Bureau 279:Kiss (cryptanalysis) 465:, 1984, pp. 243–44. 516:Władysław Kozaczuk 490:Władysław Kozaczuk 459:Władysław Kozaczuk 236:William Halsey Jr. 149:Qattara Depression 697: 696: 652:Chosen-ciphertext 562:978-0-19-284055-4 549:Copeland, B. Jack 249:Classical ciphers 232:the world wonders 16:(Redirected from 722: 678:Open key models 640:Chosen-plaintext 613: 606: 599: 590: 589: 585: 583: 581: 565: 543: 527:Welchman, Gordon 478: 472: 466: 452: 446: 445: 427: 421: 420: 393: 387: 386: 384: 382: 367: 361: 360: 342: 336: 329:B. Jack Copeland 325: 319: 309: 99: 98: 96: 21: 730: 729: 725: 724: 723: 721: 720: 719: 700: 699: 698: 693: 669:Known-plaintext 635:Ciphertext-only 626: 617: 579: 577: 563: 541: 512:Marian Rejewski 486: 481: 473: 469: 455:Marian Rejewski 453: 449: 442: 428: 424: 417: 394: 390: 380: 378: 368: 364: 357: 343: 339: 326: 322: 312:Gordon Welchman 310: 306: 302: 265: 164:Royal Air Force 134:In the case of 106: 100: 94: 88: 87: 28: 23: 22: 18:Known plaintext 15: 12: 11: 5: 728: 718: 717: 715:Enigma machine 712: 695: 694: 692: 691: 690: 689: 684: 676: 671: 666: 665: 664: 659: 649: 648: 647: 637: 631: 628: 627: 616: 615: 608: 601: 593: 587: 586: 566: 561: 544: 539: 523: 509: 485: 482: 480: 479: 467: 447: 440: 422: 415: 388: 362: 355: 337: 320: 303: 301: 298: 297: 296: 291: 286: 281: 276: 271: 264: 261: 202:Eins Catalogue 153:"Heil Hitler," 140:Bletchley Park 105: 102: 85: 74:, the British 72:Bletchley Park 26: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 727: 716: 713: 711: 708: 707: 705: 688: 685: 683: 680: 679: 677: 675: 672: 670: 667: 663: 660: 658: 655: 654: 653: 650: 646: 643: 642: 641: 638: 636: 633: 632: 629: 625: 624:cryptanalysis 621: 620:Attack models 614: 609: 607: 602: 600: 595: 594: 591: 576: 572: 567: 564: 558: 554: 550: 545: 542: 540:0-7139-1294-4 536: 532: 528: 524: 521: 517: 513: 510: 507: 506:0-89093-547-5 503: 499: 495: 491: 488: 487: 476: 471: 464: 460: 456: 451: 443: 437: 433: 426: 418: 416:0-385-49532-3 412: 408: 404: 403: 402:The Code Book 398: 392: 377: 373: 366: 358: 356:0-87332-731-4 352: 348: 341: 334: 330: 324: 317: 313: 308: 304: 295: 292: 290: 287: 285: 282: 280: 277: 275: 272: 270: 267: 266: 260: 258: 254: 253:Caesar cipher 250: 246: 244: 239: 237: 233: 229: 225: 221: 220:one-time tape 216: 214: 213:Cipher Bureau 209: 207: 203: 199: 198:Benford's law 195: 191: 186: 184: 179: 177: 173: 169: 165: 161: 156: 154: 150: 146: 141: 137: 132: 130: 125: 123: 119: 115: 111: 93: 92: 84: 79: 77: 73: 69: 65: 61: 57: 53: 49: 45: 44:cryptanalysis 41: 37: 33: 19: 674:Side-channel 668: 578:. Retrieved 575:Live Science 574: 552: 530: 519: 493: 470: 462: 450: 431: 425: 400: 397:Singh, Simon 391: 379:. Retrieved 376:Live Science 375: 365: 346: 340: 332: 323: 315: 307: 247: 240: 217: 210: 205: 201: 193: 187: 183:Double-Cross 180: 160:World War II 157: 152: 144: 133: 126: 107: 97:, p. 22 90: 81: 76:World War II 51: 40:attack model 35: 31: 29: 682:Related-key 211:The Polish 190:Alan Turing 114:translation 64:secret keys 704:Categories 484:References 441:3540200207 129:ciphertext 68:code books 60:ciphertext 54:) and its 50:(called a 687:Known-key 662:Lunchtime 580:31 August 381:31 August 176:gardening 168:North Sea 58:version ( 56:encrypted 48:plaintext 657:Adaptive 645:Adaptive 529:(1982), 399:(1999). 318:, p. 78. 284:PC Bruno 263:See also 86:—  83:solving. 38:) is an 551:(ed.), 331:, ed., 104:History 559:  537:  520:Enigma 504:  463:Enigma 438:  413:  353:  145:Wetter 136:Enigma 300:Notes 269:Cadix 224:5-UCO 172:mines 170:with 122:Greek 118:Latin 110:slang 95:(PDF) 582:2020 557:ISBN 535:ISBN 502:ISBN 436:ISBN 411:ISBN 383:2020 351:ISBN 243:KL-7 241:The 206:eins 194:eins 66:and 52:crib 42:for 30:The 622:in 407:184 120:or 36:KPA 706:: 573:. 518:, 492:, 461:, 409:. 374:. 314:, 612:e 605:t 598:v 584:. 508:. 444:. 419:. 385:. 359:. 335:. 34:( 20:)

Index

Known plaintext
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

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