One-Time Pod

by Maxim Mukhin

The hash function is a one way cryptographic tool used to convert words into numbers. Using this function, a website can compare passwords and other sensitive information without actually storing any information except for the numbers, which are meaningless to any unauthorized user. I give a brief introduction as to how in the 1960’s the idea of hashing was created. I then move on to describe potential ways in which hash functions are broken, and the weaknesses of certain examples. Moving into the 1980’s I introduce the two main types of hash functions used in the public sector, MD and SHA. I give an overview of their general idea and discuss some implications of the SHA, which was created by the NSA.

Citations:

Preneel, B. (2008). The First 30 Years of Cryptographic Hash Functions and

Silva, J. (2003). An Overview of Cryptographic Hash Functions and Their Uses. SANS Information Security Reading Room. Retrieved from: https://www.sans.org/reading-room/ whitepapers/vpns/overview-cryptographic-hash-functions-879

Dodis, Y. Ristenpart, T. Shrimpton, T. (2009). Salvaging Merkle-Damgard for Practical Applications. Advances in Cryptology – EUROCRYPT ‘09, Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Retrieved from: https://eprint.iacr.org/2009/177.pdf

Cimpanu, C. (2019). A quarter of major CMSs use outdated MD5 as the default password hashing scheme. ZDNet. Retrieved from: https://www.zdnet.com/article/a-quarter-of-major-cmss-use-outdated-md5-as-the-default-password-hashing-scheme/

Music from https://filmmusic.io:

“Amazing Plan” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

“Beauty Flow” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

“The Builder” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

“Tyrant” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

“Marty Gots a Plan” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

“Willow and the Light” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

Image: Whirlpool galaxy (M51), By NASA and European Space Agency,  Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3863746

by Shivam Mohite

The Data Encryption Standard served as the precursor for many of the encryption algorithms that would be employed during the digital age. The prevalent encryption method for 20 years following its inception, DES – and its first iteration, LUCIFER – were instrumental in concealing American communications from malicious foreign operatives. This podcast will not only explore the development of the Data Encryption Standard, but the historical context surrounding its inception. While the Data Encryption Standard has now been proven to be breakable by modern computers, the theory underpinning its mechanics proved to be a lasting strategy when developing new encryption algorithms. DES is, therefore, rightfully regarded as the mother of all modern encryption algorithms.

Works Cited

Audio Sources

Retrieved from https://http://www.orangefreesounds.com/category/music/background-music/

Retrieved from http://soundbible.com/tags-wind.html

Further Reading

Image: DES Untwisted Ladder, Wikimedia Commons

by Hannah Batson

Number stations are one of our most well known forms of modern day cryptography. It was first used during the end of World War I, and was later used through World War 2, and the Cold War. Today you can find many active number stations on your average online shortwave frequency radio. This podcast explores the workings of number stations, as well as popular stations that have been recorded throughout the years. Considering the recency of the confirmation of number stations, and the little knowledge that we have on these stations, this podcast will merely dive into the theories of this mysterious topic.

Works Cited

Careless, J. (12 January 2018) ​Do Shortwave ‘Number Stations’ Really Instruct Spies? Radio World. Retrieved from https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/do-shortwave-numbers-stations-really -instruct-spies

Goldmanis, M. (24 May 2018) ​Explaining the ‘Mystery’ of Number Stations. ​War on The Rocks. Retrieved from https://warontherocks.com/2018/05/explaining-the-mystery-of-numbers-stations/

Goldmanis, M. ​Before Enigma: The Early Number Station Monitors. ​NumberStations Research and Information Center. Retrieved from https://www.numbers-stations.com/articles/before-enigma-the-early-numbers-stations-monitors/

Sorrel-Dejerine, O. (16 April 2014) ​The Spooky World of the ‘Number Stations’.​ BBC News Magazine. Retrieved from ​https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24910397​.

Audio Clips

Tissot B. (Composer). Deep Blue [Audio File]. Retrieved from 

https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/deep-blue

Tissot B. (Composer). Enigmatic [Audio File]. Retrieved from 

https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/enigmatic

Gong Station Chimes [Audio File]. Retrieved from 

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Conet_Project/The_Conet_Project/gong_station_chimes

HM01 [Audio File]. Retrieved from http://priyom.org/number-stations/digital/hm01# 

The Lincolnshire Poacher mi5 [Audio File]. Retrieved from 

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Conet_Project/The_Conet_Project/the_lincolnshire_poacher_mi5

The Sweedish Rhapsody [Audio File]. Retrieved from 

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Conet_Project/The_Conet_Project/tcp_d1_01_the_swedish_rhapsody_irdial

V13 [Audio File]. Retrieved from http://priyom.org/number-stations/other/v13

Image: Radio, pxhere, CC0

by Miles Borowsky

This podcast explains the story and history behind Operation Vula: a communications system between underground anti-apartheid activists in South Africa and their exiled leaders in London and Zambia. They used telephone dial-tones and an electronic one-time pad encryption software to send messages via payphone between London and South Africa. The success of this project was vital to the downfall of apartheid; it allowed for almost real-time communications while previously, they had been forced to use cumbersome and lengthy methods of communication.   

Works Cited 

Garrett, R. K., & Edwards, P. N. (2007). Revolutionary Secrets: Technology’s Role in the South African Anti-Apartheid Movement. Social Science Computer Review, 25(1), 13–26.   

Schneier, B. (2013, December 26). Operation Vula. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/12/operation_vula.html.  

Jenkin, T. (n.d.). Tim Jenkin: Talking with Vula. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv03445/04lv03996/05lv04001.htm 

Vermeulen, J. (2015, July 12). How the ANC sent encrypted messages in the fight against apartheid. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from https://mybroadband.co.za/news/security/131822-how-the-anc-sent-encrypted-messages-in-the-fight-against-apartheid.html.  

Toupin, S. (2017, May 9). Hacking Apartheid – Cryptography Tools for Activists. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from https://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/hacking-apartheid-cryptography-tools-for-activists/. 

Audio Sources 

Retrieved from http://www.orangefreesounds.com 

Retrieved from https://www.bensound.com 

Retrieved from https://www.melodyloops.com 

More information about Operation Vula…

Image: “Touch-tone telephone,” snowmentality, Flickr (CC BY-SA)

by Ellie Ragiel

Johannes Trithemius was a 16th century monk and Renaissance man who made a lasting impact on the study of cryptography, but one that is laden with secrecy and tales of dark magic. It has been widely debated whether his work the Steganographia is a book about cryptography, encrypted itself to look like magic, or whether it is just a book of witchcraft, spells, and spirits. Nonetheless, his following work, the Polygraphia, is widely accepted as the first official written work on cryptography, and the Ave Maria cipher and Trithemius square described in this work have lasting implications for cipher systems such as the famed Vigenère cipher.

Works Cited

de Leeuw, M. & Maria, K. (2007). The history of information security: A comprehensive handbook. San Diego, California: Elsevier Science.

Khan, D. (1967). The codebreakers: The story of secret writing. New York: Macmillan. pp.130-137.

Johannes Trithemius. (1851). In Notes and Queries (Vol. 4). Retrieved from Vanderbilt Library online database.

Reeds, J. (1998). Solved: The ciphers in book III of Thrithemius’s Steganographia. Cryptologia, 22(4), 291. Retrieved from Vanderbilt Library online database.

Shumaker, W. (n.d.). Renaissance curiosa: John Dee’s conversations with angels, Girolamo Cardano’s horoscope of Christ, Johannes Trithemius and cryptography, George Dalgarno’s Universal language. Binghamton, N.Y: Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies.

Audio Sources

Retrieved from https://www.royaltyfreemusicforfree.com

Retrieved from http://www.orangefreesounds.com

Image

Detail of tomb relief of Johannes Trithemius, public domain, Wikimedia Commons

A cryptic note found in the pocket of a dead man in the woods. Secret messages encoded using telephone touch tones, passed between anti-apartheid activists in South Africa and London. A German monk whose encryption techniques had him accused of witchcraft. A team of codebreakers who cracked a World War Two cipher machine without ever having seen one.

Welcome to Season 3 of One-Time Pod, a podcast on the history of cryptography produced by students in Derek Bruff’s first-year writing seminar at Vanderbilt University. Each episode considers a different code or cipher, how it works, and why it’s interesting.

For more on Dr. Bruff’s first-year seminar on cryptography, visit the course homepage: https://derekbruff.org/blogs/fywscrypto. For more on his podcast assignment, read his 2019 blog post, “Building a Better Podcast Assignment,” available here: https://derekbruff.org/?p=3558. And for more examples of student-produced audio, check out Dr. Bruff’s other podcast, VandyVox: http://vandyvox.com/.

Intro music: “To Be Decided,” Mystery Mammal, CC-BY

by Charlie Overton

The Dreyfus Affair was one of the most divisive incidents in the world around the turn of the 20th century. The affair divided France into two opposed groups, resulting in chaos, riots, anti-Semitic violence, and public outrage. However, the influence of codes and ciphers on the affair is often ignored, but it might be one of the most interesting cases of the unintended effects of enciphering messages.

Sources

Details about the Panizzardi Telegram

A little bit about breaking codes, with a specific example of Baravelli’s codes

Baravelli’s Codebook

A Detailed Timeline of the Dreyfus Affair

A Short Documentary about the Affair

Music Credits

Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Midnight Meeting by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100159

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Ambush – The Descent by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100334

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

I Am Running Down the Long Hallway of Viewmont Elementary by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/honor/

Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

Lightning on a Blue Sky by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/

Fur Elise by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Artist: http://audionautix.com/

Image: Cover of Le Petit Journal, 1894, Wikimedia Commons

by Jojo Dong

The Voynich Manuscript is one of the most puzzling mysteries in the history of cryptography. First presented to the public by Wilfrid Voynich in 1912, the manuscript is filled with bizarre symbols and delicate drawings. Carbon dating has placed the creation of the book in the fifteenth century. Since then, the manuscript has travelled a long way, and is now housed in the Yale Beinecke Library. It’s believed that the manuscript is written in a lost language to preserve a civilization, or in ciphers to record some scientific findings. Till this day, none of the speculations revolving the Voynich Manuscript has be proven.

Voices:

Host: Jojo Dong

Fellow Host: Zinnie Zhang

Voice of Elizabeth Friedman: Olivia Donofrio

Male Voice: Long Than

Music:

www.royaltyfreemusicforfree.com:

www.orangefreesounds.com:

References:

Researchers Claim to Crack the Voynich Manuscript Using AI, But Experts Are Skeptical, Mentalfloss, retrieved from http://mentalfloss.com/article/527744/researchers-claim-crack-voynich-manuscript-using-ai-experts-are-skeptical

AI didn’t decode the cryptic Voynich manuscript — it just added to the mystery, The Verge, retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/1/16959454/voynich-manuscript-mystery-ai-decoded-debunked

Mysterious Voynich Manuscript Reborn in Facsimile Edition, YaleNews, retrieved from https://news.yale.edu/2016/10/31/mysterious-voynich-manuscript-reborn-facsimile-edition

The Voynich Manuscript: An Elegant Enigma, D’Imperio, 1978

The Pleasures of Incomprehensibility, The Paris Review, LaPointe, retrieved from https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/12/01/the-pleasures-of-incomprehensibility/

To Crack the Voynich Code, University of Arizona, retrieved from https://www.arizona.edu/news/2011/05/crack-voynich-code

Image:

Page from the Voynich Manuscript, Wikimedia Commons

by Jerry Ji

The Culper Ring was America’s first intelligence agency, operating during the American Revolution. It was the only source of information on British activities, and such it was vital to the American victory during the war. This podcast delves into the history and workings of the Culper Ring, as well as the Culper Code that encrypted all of their messages. Although it receives very little recognition nowadays, the Culper Ring was a key factor during the American Revolution.

Works Cited

George Washington, Spymaster. (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2018, from https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/spying-and-espionage/george-washington-spymaster/

Gould, K. (2016, May 06). Culper Spy Ring. Retrieved October 31, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Culper-Spy-Ring

History.com Editors. (2010, March 19). The Culper Spy Ring. Retrieved October 31, 2018, from https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/culper-spy-ring

Williams, V. (n.d.). Culper Spy Ring. Retrieved October 31, 2018, from https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/culper-spy-ring/

Audio Sources

Retrieved from https://www.premiumbeat.com/royalty-free-music

Retrieved from https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Retrieved from https://filmstro.com/music

Retrieved from https://www.bensound.com/

More information about the Culper Ring

Image: Culper Ring code, Wikimedia Commons

by Adrian Florea

In Britain 1982, a skeleton of a carrier pigeon from World War II was discovered in a chimney. It appeared that the bird did not reach its final destination as it was found with a message attached to its leg. To the naked eye, the message looked like nonsense; just a lot of groupings of random letters. However, to cryptographers, the random letters make sense and are a part of an unsolvable cipher called the one time pad. This new way of encoding messages created by Gilbert Vernam changed the ways that encryption was seen in the scientific community.

Like learning about carrier pigeons? Check out these to read about these heroic pigeons and their services in war.

References:

Audio: