[Spooks] Question about spy numbers

[Dan Malloy]

It seems that the lower-tech encryption methods are more fail-safe.  Numbers, if generated in a truly random set such as piking them out of a hat the way most lotteries choose winning numbers would create a constantly changing random cypher that would be unbreakable.  Although you may have a computer program that claims to generate a psuedo-random code, it is just that- not truly random and there is some algorhythm behind it which may be decoded by a third party. An amusing case of this involved an American game show in the 1980's called Press Your Luck.  The players went around a computer generated board to win prizes, but every so often a monster- a Whammy- would show up and that player would be out.  One player had done his homework and figured out a pattern to the Whammies- not so random.  He went further than anyone else had.  They could't take his winnings because there was no rule against what he had done.  Your packet may , like this game board, have an algorhythm that someone else could break, but a low-tech, truly random code like numbers are unbreakable, and constant- length messages such as 200 blocks of 5 no matter the length of the actual text ensure secrecy.
73
Dan Malloy, KA1RDZ
Everett, MA


Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 11:15:06 -0500
From: "Jon" <pcmanjon at swbell.net>
Subject: [Spooks] Question about spy numbers
To: "Shortwave Spy Numbers Stations" <spooks at mailman.qth.net>
Message-ID: <001e01c4593d$406f9c70$0200a8c0 at jon4llx1n13s4u>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

So are these numbers we pick up actual spys or something secretive?

What's the purpose of these things?

They use enigma, enigma codes can be cracked in this day and age, can't
they?

Why do they still use radio instead of a more reliable way to send
information?

Encrypted packet radio would even be better

thanks...
jon