Enigma Technology (1930)
- Overview: The Enigma machine was a complex cipher device used by the German military during World War II to encode secret communications. It represented a significant advancement in both usability and cryptographic strength.
- Mechanism: The machine utilized rotating electromechanical rotors that altered the mappings of the letters as the keys were pressed, generating a new cipher for each letter based on its position and the rotor settings.
- Keyspace: With a possible keyspace of approximately 3×101143 \times 10^{114}3×10114, the Enigma’s complexity provided significant security against brute-force attacks. However, flaws in its operational procedures eventually led to its compromise.
- Historical Significance: Alan Turing and his team at Bletchley Park successfully decrypted Enigma-encrypted messages, contributing to the Allied victory in WWII. This effort laid the groundwork for modern computer science and cryptography.