WWII pigeon code is found and can't be broken.

[Swampy]

The British have found a long-dead pigeon, who carried a coded message during World War II but somehow died before it could reach its destination.

Britain's Government Communications HQ (GCHQ) has tried to break the code but cannot. A historian says that it could be based on the "one-time pad" system, which cannot be broken even today, because the system uses the code once and is destroyed.

But the Soviets used that as well, and the Americans did break it, because the Soviets re-used the pad after so many times, so the Americans could, over time, find patterns.

The British almost certainly did the same, so perhaps the US National Security Agency can try. It shouldn't take too long to use the WWII databases and find the proper pattern.

[Sir John]

When I was a poor starving bank officer, we used to have a code system.

It was based on the same idea of a 5 letter 'word' taken from 'The Code Book' and decoded from the same code book in the receivers branch or department.

Thus no code book meant no decoding possible.

[Deleted]

To my knowledge, a one time pad CANNOT ever be broken. If a one time pad is used more than once, it is no longer a one time pad. DUH!

[Sir John]

I have managed to decipher the message, it reads,

"surrounded by 1000s of blood thirsty Germans, No food, no water, no ammo, please send help IMMEDIATELY!!! "


SJ

[jerryfmcompushaft]

Nov 23, 2012 15:54:32 GMT -5 Sir John said:

I have managed to decipher the message, it reads,

"surrounded by 1000s of blood thirsty Germans, No food, no water, no ammo, please send help IMMEDIATELY!!! "


SJ

A pigeon said that ??

[Swampy]

Did the pigeon say it in English or German?

[Sir John]

The bloody pigeon did not say a word, it was not a Budgerigar!

It was my brilliance that deciphered the written message in its little container attached to its leg.

With the help of (the BRITISH) 'Colossus' of course!


SJ

[mcnoch]

Well, no it says "I bet 4£ that England wins at Lord’s over "West Indies" and "Australia". Send my win to Paris. "

[Swampy]

Nov 23, 2012 15:40:29 GMT -5 @kylenedenny said:

To my knowledge, a one time pad CANNOT ever be broken. If a one time pad is used more than once, it is no longer a one time pad. DUH!

That was the mistake the Soviets made - they used the pads more than once.

[Swampy]

The British are looking for someone to decode it, but, first, they'll need someone to go through the archives, to see if the notepad still exists.

[bluejay77]

Nov 23, 2012 15:40:29 GMT -5 @kylenedenny said:

To my knowledge, a one time pad CANNOT ever be broken. If a one time pad is used more than once, it is no longer a one time pad. DUH!

According to what I know, you are quite correct, a genuine one-time pad is impossible to break.

To my knowledge the www.nsa.gov employ individuals with a university degree in higher math.... They are specialists in that kind of work. But a true one-time pad would still be impossible.

[Deleted]

I was stationed at NSA and trust me, you don't need a college degree to know that you can't break a one time pad.

[bluejay77]

Dec 8, 2012 17:52:25 GMT -5 @kylenedenny said:

I was stationed at NSA and trust me, you don't need a college degree to know that you can't break a one time pad.

Yes; well -- all that is needed is to read one introductory book in theoretical computer science, i. e. in very basic cryptography.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-time_pad

[Swampy]

I was trying to see if there was an update to this story, and I found out that the Germans trained hawks to kill those pigeons, as early as the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Talk about evolution and the arms race.

[Deleted]

I told you previously Swampy that the language is Pigeon English as spoken by the people of Papua New Guinea.