[ARC5] Dead Pigeons, Secret Messages, and Random Numbers

[Richard Knoppow]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Neil" <neilb at ihug.co.nz>
To: "arc5" <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 5:27 PM
Subject: Re: [ARC5] Dead Pigeons, Secret Messages, and 
Random Numbers


>> This is a follow-up to the news story of the long-dead 
>> carrier pigeon
>> found in a chimney in the UK with a 'secret'message 
>> attached.
>>
>> News reports say that the message may never be decoded, 
>> because it was
>> encrypted using a one-time pad.
>>
>> Now the question: In WWII, how did they generate the 
>> random data to make
>> one-time pads? And, how many distinct, different one-time 
>> pads were made?
>>
>> If the message were now in machine readable form, it 
>> could be quickly
>> tested against a library of different one-time pads, but 
>> that would have
>> been next to impossible 70 years ago.
>
>
> I think it can be done slowly and tediously by both 
> parties agreeing on a
> commonly available book (eg. the Bible) and using say, 
> every 8th letter.
> For the next message, use every 9th letter, and so on.
>
> Look at this (scroll down to "Making one-time pads by 
> hand":
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_time_pad
>
> Also look at this intriguing Australian mystery. The 
> second link contains an
> extensive mathematical analysis by Professor Abbott of the 
> murdered man's
> coded message.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taman_Shud_Case
> https://www.eleceng.adelaide.edu.au/personal/dabbott/wiki/index.php/Critical_design_review_2009:_Who_killed_the_Somerton_man%3F
>
> 73 de Neil ZL1ANM
> ______________________________________________________________


     I will now go ga-ga. There is a detective story in 
which our hero decodes a message of this sort. I just can't 
remember if its Sherlock Holmes or Lord Peter Wimsey that 
does the trick. The detective first figures out what book 
both the sender and intended receiver would likely have.  He 
decides that the bible won't do because the pagination 
varies from edition to edition, also problems with other 
very common books. Then decides which one and tries it, 
doesn't work. Then realizes his edition of whatever it was 
is too new so tries an older one which works and voila, the 
message comes out.  My memory will eventually stand and 
deliver the answer but it will bother me until it does.


--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
dickburk at ix.netcom.com