Date: Tue, 27 Jun 1995 11:32:10 EDT
From: "Randy Nichols, ACA Pres." <75542.1003@compuserve.com>


                       Message #3d

Three Classical Ciphers From Russkaya Kriptologia Historica
(OTP conclusion)


CONCURRENT DEVELOPMENTS

Other countries conducted similar research.  Between 1918-1920,
other OTP methods were developed.  The German Foreign Office
employed the OTP in 1920.  The Russians first stole and then
improved the German system.  It was fully deployed in 1925 for
diplomatic use!  OSS and SOE operatives in WWII had special grid
OTP's.  By 1944, OSS technicians had developed pages made of film
that were read with a hand magnifying glass.  By 1960, Russian
pads were the size of a postage stamp or scrolls the size of a
large eraser.  The Russians were first to conceal the OTP in
microfilm.  OTPs were made of cellulose nitrate for rapid
destruction.  (12), (20), (21), (23)

RUSSIAN IMPLEMENTATION

So why classify the OTP with Russian Ciphers?  Because they have
been serious about using it since 1925!   Before 1917, Russian
diplomatic and military systems could be expressed by the old
axiom:

     Cryptography + Loose Discipline = Chaos


After her loss to the British of trade information in 1920, and
defeats of her Army in WWI because of poor cipher handling, she
woke up.   By 1916, Russia's intercept service at Nicolaieff was
in full service against the Germans.  From 1920 through today,
Russia has targeted stealing other countries codes with "great
vigor" as Kennedy once said.   Code stealing was done through
the COMINT efforts of the former KGB and GRU.   The Spets-Odel
(Special Department) was a primary agency involved with Ciphers
and Cryptanalysis.  Section 6 grew 400% over a 10 year period
prior to WWII.

The Soviet Union has employed the one-time pad to protect ALL her
diplomatic missions from 1930 on.   Consequently her crucial
Foreign Office messages were not read by foes, neutrals, nor
allies.  The GRU and the Soviet Spy rings - "LUCY", "RED
ORCHESTRA, and "Sorge's Net"  all used the OTP.  They also used
a straddling checkerboard variant (not unbreakable).

The OTP is used in the old fashioned form in the Soviet Mission -
diplomatic , secret police, military, commercial, political
(Communist Party) - all have their own keys.  All cables coming
into a legation look alike: simple groups of five digits.  Letters
that are photographed, codenames are applied and then enciphered
in OTP system.

Agents in the field use the one-time pad.  Radio links to Moscow,
are encrypted via OTP.  The main Soviet spy cipher today still
employs the OTP.  The most dramatic spy stories (Klaus Fuchs, Iger
Gouzenko, Vladimir Petrov, Col. Zabotin, Rudolf Abel, Gregory
Liolios, Eleftherious Voutsas, the Krogers, Guiseppe Martelli,
Ali Abbasi, Reino Hayhanen, Aldridge Ames ...) all have used the
OTP.

Such is cryptology in the Soviet Union -  complex, enigmatic,
focused, state-of-the-art, applying the OTP principles to other
ciphers.  Do you remember when the diplomatic ciphers in use at
the American embassy in Moscow were solved?  Russia has a profound
understanding of cryptography and cryptanalysis.  (10), (11),
(12), (28)

The U.S. history was different.  Some would argue that we became
serious and superplayers in 1953.  Some would argue 1943.  But not
many will argue 1925 (we still had SIGTOT then).

============================================================

REFERENCES

(1)   IBID, pp 620-650.

(9)   IBID, "Covert Intelligence Techniques of the Soviet
      Union.

(11)  IBID, Suvorov.

(12)  IBID, Barron.

(14)  Bruce Schneier, "Applied Cryptography," John Wiley & Sons,
      New York, 1994.

(15)  David Kahn, "Kahn On Codes - Secrets of the New Cryptology,"
      MacMillan Co., New York, 1983.

(16)  Fred Wrixon, "Codes and Ciphers," London, 1992.

(17)  Michael E. Marotta, "The Code Book - All About Unbreakable
      Codes and How To Use Them," Loompanics Unlimited, 1979.
      [This is terrible book.  Badly written, without proper
      authority, unprofessional, and prejudicial too boot.
      And, it has one of the better illustrations of the Soviet
      OTP with example, with three errors in CT, I corrected]

(18)  James Martin, "Security, Accuracy and Privacy in Computer
      Systems," Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1973.

(19)  C. E. Shannon,"The Communication Theory of Secrecy Systems,"
      Bell System Technical Journal, Vol 28 (October 1949).

(20)  Man Young Rhee, "Cryptography and Secure Communications'"
      McGraw-Hill Co., New York, 1995.

(21)  M. Givierge, "Cours de Cryptographie," Berger-Levrault,
      Paris, 1925.

(22)  A. S. Vernam, "Cipher Printing Telegraph Systems For Secret
      Wire and Radio Telegraphic Communications," J. of the IEEE,
      Vol 45, 109-115 (1926).

(23)  D. Terrett, "The Signal Corps: The Emergency (to December
      1941); G. R. Thompson, et. al, The Test( December 1941 -
      July 1943); D. Harris and G. Thompson, The Outcome;(Mid 1943
      to 1945), Department of the Army, Office of the Chief of
      Military History, USGPO, Washington,1956 -1966.

(24)  IBID, Kahn, 'The Codebreakers'. Chapter 13.

(25)  IBM Research Reports, Vol 7., No 4, IBM Research, Yorktown
      Heights, N.Y., 1971.

(26)  B Tuckerman, "A Study of The Vigenere-Vernam Single and
      Multiple Loop Enciphering Systems," IBM Report RC2879,
      Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
      1970.

(27)  C. C. Pierce, "Cryptoprivacy," Author/Publisher, Ventura
      Ca., 1995. (XOR Logic and SIGTOT teleprinters)

(28)  Op. Cit., Kahn, Chapter 18.