REVOLUTION IN CODE CYPHERS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18402, 8 June 1925, Page 10

REVOLUTION IN CODE CYPHERS.

TRANSLATION BY AN ENEMY IMPOSSIBLE. A revolution in the methods of code cyphers may take placo in the near future by the help of wireless photography. This invention would make it absolutely impossible for cyphers to be captured and read by the enemy in a future war. . A member of the Post Office .engineering department, who is responsible for the research work on the subject, and who was actively engaged in cypher'work during the war, told a London "Moiyuing Post" representative that the invention of sending pictures by wireless, had made possible vast changes, which would make the reading of cyphers by the enemy out of the question. Brieflv, the system is as follows: — A key "is provided, which consists of a number of squares, in each of which arc the letters of the alphabet. A piece' of tracing paper is placed over this, and a line is drawn from letter to letter consecutively to form the message, but letters varo'taken at random from the different squares. This tracing, which is a meaningless jumble of irregular lines, is then photographed and transmitted by wireless photography to the receiver, Avho, on transferring the tracing to a key similar to that in the possession of the sender, can decipher the message. The process of'sending pictures, by wireless entails two cylinders of the same size, revolving at a predetermined speed in synchronisation. Sizes and speeds may be varied at will, but without exact knowledgo of both the enemycould not possibly reproducp the picture from the wireless impulses picked up. The sending of a picture only takes a few seconds, which makes any attempt to guess at the speed impossible. Even if the enomy possessed the key with the letters, without an absolutely accurate picture, he would obtain gibberish if he tried to decipher. If, which is humanly almost impossible, he succeeded in getting the right picture, it would be useless without the key. The key can be varied at will, 'and may contain at least eight squares fullooff f letters. ■ ...... : ., •:,-. ... { In ordinary cyphers; and codes the difficulty has always been"' that the secret is usually yielded • by thp reoccurrence of the vowel 1 "e," IniF'in the new system, in which'each would contain different sets of letters, and in which similar letters in different sections could be - used, the danger of the recurring vowel is eliminated. It is claimed that the-new system will be so secret that it will be possible for the sender, to transmit an . intimation in plain that he is about to send a message, and the enemy, though able to pick this up, will bo quite helpless.