A ramshackle team of American scientists scrambled to decode the Nazi cipher before the time ran out. Luckily, they had a secret weapon.
Saturday in July, at approximately 15:30 hours, the first signals come in over the radio receiver. Its faintis barely detectable as a small team of engineers and scientists scramble to their stations and listen, trying to decipher the message, delivered through Morse code. They have 72 hours and time is ticking. What was once an auxiliary room above a garage in suburban Maryland is now command central.“Did anyone reach out to Los Alamos?” asks someone.
Tim Koeth, a professor and nuclear physicist in the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Maryland, just so happens to have an original three-rotor Enigma machine. Of the 145 participants in this year’s Crypto Transmission Event, Koeth is the only one using an Enigma machine. Now, if he can just get it to work before time runs out.
A primer: An Enigma is a device used by the German military command to encode strategic messages before and during WWII. From the outside, it looks a lot like a courtroom stenography machine. Inside is a whole other story, involving a complex system of letter keys and plugboards and rotors. The important thing—and what Koeth is trying to gather—is information about the starting position, the order of the three rotors, and how to position the plugs in the board.
“I need total quiet,” he says, moving between two of the three radios he’s set up in preparation for the event. He adjusts some knobs and waits for another call sign from Inverness. In total, the message will be sent four times: twice in Morse code, twice in radio teletype. Jim “Jimbo” Krutzler, an electrical engineer from Flemington, New Jersey, sits in front of the third radio, an open box of Snickerdoodles by his side. Krutzler and Koeth met as undergrads at Rutgers University, at an activity fair for the ham radio club. It’s also where Koeth met his wife, Michelle Koeth, who is downstairs entertaining around 50 guests who have shown up for the couple’s annual High Voltage Weekend.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Anarchist earns Pat O’Brien Stakes win at Del MarThe victory was Doug O’Neill’s 45th stakes victory at Del Mar and first this summer. He’s won the Pat O’Brien two times after saddling Goldencents for a victory in 2014.
Read more »
Newly engaged race walk couple still riding wave of emotions after proposalA day after Dominik Cerny knelt down on one knee and proposed to Hana Burzalova at the finish line of the women's 35-kilometres race walk at the World Athletics Championships, the Slovakian athletes were still riding a wave of emotions.
Read more »
A History of the Rusical: How a One-Off ‘Drag Race’ Challenge Became a Beloved StapleCreators, songwriters and queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race break down how the iconic Rusical challenge has evolved over the years.
Read more »
Every Rusical from ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ Ranked Worst to BestJudged by their general concepts, execution, music and overall impact, here is how each Rusical fared in our ranking.
Read more »
AUD/USD nears cycle low after Powell’s hawkish remarksAt the end of the week, the USD gained ground against its rivals, mainly driven by the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) chairman, Jerome Powell, at the Jackson
Read more »
Lego to sell braille bricks to help blind, low-vision children learn to readLego Braille Bricks help blind and low-vision children 'play and learn just like every other child,' said mom Lisa Taylor.
Read more »