Edited by M. E. Ohaver - Toebes.com
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SOLVING C I P H E R S E C R E T S Edited by M. E . Ohaver CONTINUING AN INTERESTING EXPOSITION ON THE USE OF PHONETIC ALPHABETS IN CIPHERS, WITH A SPECIAL MULTIPLE ALPHABET SYSTEM B EFORE beginning the week's cipher department it might be well to re- mind readers who have lost copies of FLYNN'S WEEKLY DETECTIVE FICTION containing Solving Cipher Secrets that back numbers can still be purchased by writing the publishers at 280 Broadway, New York City. But now go on with the interesting variations that phonetic alphabets bring to cryptography. The purpose of cryptography is to trans- form or disguise a communication so that it will be meaningless without the key. And this statement holds good regardless of the alphabet or system of characters in which the communication may have been original- ly expressed. Hence, the use of phonetic alphabets is entirely legitimate for cryptographic pur- poses. Further, such systems are practica- ble, for phonetic alphabets can easily be adapted to existing methods of encipher- ment. . For example, last week's Cipher No. 145, by M. Walker, was a phonetic cipher em- ploying the simple substitution principle. That is, a given phonetic character in the alphabet used was represented at each oc- currence by the same cipher symbol; and, conversely, a given cipher symbol always signified the same phonetic character or sound. This week we shall offer a multiple alpha- bet system. .And for this purpose the forty- character phonetic alphabet given last week is here arranged in a diagram of eight rows and five columns, numbered for use with a key word in the manner of the Nihilist cipher. 1 2 3 4 5 1 A .-/ .;// ./;;• B 2 c/v D Di[ P: E H 3 F G 4 J K 5 NO O 6 00 OU 7 SH T 8 V W L O P rn u Y z I / M N 01 00 R S U ZH In this system any phonetic character is signified by the numbers indicating its row and column. Thus, K, which is in the fourth row and second column, is repre- sented by the symbol 42. I n the same way, U—short U—is represented by 74 ; M bv 44; and so on, as shown herewith where the message COME .AT ONCE—KUM AT WUNS—has been enciphered with the key word TRAIL—TR .4L. (a) K U M A T W U N S (J) 42 74 44 11 72 82 74 45 65 (c) T R .4 L T" R /I L T (d) 72 64 12 43 72 64 12 43 72 (e) 114-138-56-54-144 - 146 - 8 6 - 88-137 The message is shown phonetically spelled at (a), with numerical equivalents at (h). Key characters are written below those of the message in line (c), with their numerical equivalents in line (d). The completed cipher (e) h obtained by add- ing the numbers in lines (b) and (d). 479
Transcript of Edited by M. E. Ohaver - Toebes.com
S O L V I N G C I P H E R S E C R E T S Edited by M. E . Ohaver
C O N T I N U I N G A N I N T E R E S T I N G E X P O S I T I O N ON T H E U S E O F P H O N E T I C A L P H A B E T S IN C I P H E R S , W I T H A S P E C I A L M U L T I P L E A L P H A B E T S Y S T E M
BE F O R E beginning the week's cipher department it might be well to remind readers who have lost copies of
F L Y N N ' S W E E K L Y D E T E C T I V E F I C T I O N containing Solving Cipher Secrets that back numbers can still be purchased by writing the publishers at 2 8 0 Broadway, New Y o r k C i t y . B u t now go on with the interesting variations that phonetic alphabets bring to cryptography.
T h e purpose of cryptography is to transform or disguise a communication so that it wi l l be meaningless without the key. A n d this statement holds good regardless of the alphabet or system of characters in which the communication may have been originall y expressed.
Hence, the use of phonetic alphabets is entirely legitimate for cryptographic purposes. Further, such systems are practicable, for phonetic alphabets can easily be adapted to existing methods of encipher-ment.
. For example, last week's Cipher No. 145, by M . Walker , was a phonetic cipher employing the simple substitution principle. T h a t is, a given phonetic character in the alphabet used was represented at each occurrence by the same cipher symbol; and, conversely, a given cipher symbol always signified the same phonetic character or sound.
T h i s week we shall offer a multiple alphabet system. .And for this purpose the forty-character phonetic alphabet given last week
is here arranged in a diagram of eight rows and five columns, numbered for use with a key word in the manner of the Nihi l ist cipher.
1 2 3 4 5 1 A .-/ . ; / / . / ; ; • B 2 c/v D Di[ P: E
H 3 F G
4 J K 5 NO O 6 00 OU 7 SH T 8 V W
L O P
rn u Y z
I / M N 01 0 0 R S
U ZH
I n this system any phonetic character is signified by the numbers indicating its row and column. T h u s , K , which is in the fourth row and second column, is represented by the symbol 4 2 . I n the same way, U — s h o r t U — i s represented by 7 4 ; M bv 4 4 ; and so on, as shown herewith where the message C O M E .AT O N C E — K U M A T W U N S — h a s been enciphered with the key word T R A I L — T R . 4 L .
( a ) K U M A T W U N S ( J ) 42 74 44 1 1 72 82 74 45 65 ( c ) T R .4 L T " R / I L T (d) 72 64 12 43 72 64 12 43 72 ( e ) 1 1 4 - 1 3 8 - 5 6 - 5 4 - 1 4 4 - 146 - 8 6 - 88-137
T h e message is shown phonetically spelled at (a), with numerical equivalents at (h). K e y characters are written below those of the message in line (c), with their numerical equivalents in line (d). T h e completed cipher (e) h obtained by adding the numbers in lines (b) and (d).
479
480 F L Y N N ' S W E E K L Y D E T E C T I V E F I C T I O N
I n deciphering this system with the key, the process just described is merely reversed. T h e key numbers are written i n rotation beneath the numbers of the cryptogram so that each cipher number wi l l have a key number. T h e key numbers are then subtracted from the cipher numbers, and phonetic values are substituted from the diagram for the differences so obtained. T h e message is then divided into words.
Cipher No. 148, below, wi l l afford the reader an opportunity to solve this cipher without the key. A n d in this connection it may be said that the present system can be resolved by the same methods used for the Nihi l ist cipher with a 5 x 5 key in the ordinary alphabet, as described in the June 27, 1925, issue of this magazine. D u e allowance must be made, of course, for the differences caused b y using eight figures instead of five in the key.
B u t the application of the above method to the present example wil l reveal the length of the key and nearly half of the key numbers in just a few minutes. T h e rest of the key wi l l also be indicated within certain l imits, which can be rapidly narrowed down by context. Remember, in solving this cipher, that in a phonetic alphabet each character fixedly represents one sound only. I n the above alphabet, as explained last week, the long vowel sounds and diphthongs are given in italics to distinguish them from the short vowels.
Cipher No. 147, in this issue, is another example of a phonetic syltem by M . Walker submitted in response to our call of several weeks ago for speaking or pronounceable ciphers. T h i s cipher, as our correspondent put it , " offers no difficulty to a cipher fan, but it is sufficiently difficult to balk the curiosity of the landlady who likes to read your diary while she rests a few minutes after ridding up your room, or that of the bird who reads over your shoulder in the car the notes you write in your memorandum book."
A well-known jingle has been used for text. A n d M r . VValker calls attention to the fact that encipherment has neither hurt the meter nor made the rime any worse than it was in the original. T h i s system can, of course, be used with prose as well
as poetry, and in either case it creates the illusion of a foreign language. Can you decipher it?
L a s t week's straight substitution cipher, No. 143, conveyed the message: " T h e predominating symbol does not always stand for E in this k ind of cryptogram." D i d the single-letter " word " and the low frequency of E in this cipher throw you off the track? Another cipher of this type, No. 146, is offered in this issue.
Cipher No. 144, by Phi l ip J . Crotty, conveyed the text: " Cipher F a n s : I too am a cipher fan and hope you enjoyed deciphering this." Grouping was arbitrary, and substitutes were found by counting forward in the alphabet as many places as there were letters in the message up to and including the group being enciphered, deducting 26 whenever the count was in excess of that number. E a c h punctuation mark restored the count to zero.
T h u s , the first group of jour letters, C I P H , was enciphered by taking the jourth letter in advance for each letter, G M T L . T h e next group of three, E R F — s e v e n letters in a l l — s i m i l a r l y became L Y M i t y counting seven letters in advance; and so on. M r . Crotty says he would like to correspond with any one interested in cryptography. H i s address is 10 Prospect Street, Charlestown, Massachusetts. Drop him a line.
T h e answers to Cipher No. 146 and M r . Walker 's phonetic Ciphers Nos. 145 and 147 wi l l appear next week, the latter w i t h complete alphabets. T h e answer to N o . 148 wil l be published in two weeks.
C I P H E R No. 146. O T D O L W H J G F O C H F C K C D W G P C J I C W G F P X D T S I J F I X P T P F ' J P X D T S I J T P H Y T J C X Q J I C W ,
C I P H E R No. 147 (M. Walker, Akron, OhioV. C R T N U H U L Q U U P A L T Y E M D D U H I G U P U L T
D U K E D Q U U L B U L T A K E POM. Q U Y E M Z W I K A D H A L
H I G U P U L T Y A S P A L A M T ZD H I B U L T A K Q U A T M U M .
C I P H E R No. 148.
6 5 - 1 2 5 - 7 0 - 1 0 8 - 1 1 3 - 1 0 8 - 1 0 7 - 1 3 7 - 4 2 - 1 3 7 - 7 9 -6 8 - 1 3 5 - 8 6 - 1 0 7 - 9 9 - 4 6 - 9 6 - 1 1 7 - 8 5 - 1 0 5 - 4 8 - 8 5 -1 3 7 - 5 4 - 7 8 - 8 9 - 3 7 - 1 3 6 - 5 5 - 9 4 - 1 4 6 - 9 4 - 1 1 7 - 9 7 -5 6 - 1 3 6 - 5 8 - 1 0 7 - 7 6 - 1 1 5 - 8 7 - 1 1 7 - 5 8 - 1 5 6 - 1 0 6 -1 0 3 - 1 3 0 - 1 0 3 - 7 7 - 8 9 - 4 7 - 9 7 - 1 0 6 - 7 7 - 8 7 - 8 3 - 1 3 4 -6 8 - 4 9 - 1 3 7 - 5 8 - 8 7 - 1 3 7 - 1 0 6 - 1 1 7 - 7 9 - 1 0 8 .
10 F W
