Personal Encryption Procedures
by: Ron Newman
It must be understood that anything that you can send to one person can usually be read, heard, or seen by at least one more person. The problem is what will they do with that information. If the information is unimportant or lacks any personal information the fact you sent it is still important to some one. So what can we do about it?
The art of hiding messages in other documents, photographs, or voice recordings is a log practised art form. In the medieval ages they tried everything to make the messages they sent by courier private. In some cases they wrote prose and poetry with certain letters in certain places that when removed in order and placed on another piece of paper would say something else entirely. The tried to write the messages in the border using lemon juice or vinegar so when it dried their was no message. Then when delivered the recipient could hold the paper Near an open flame and the message would appear. That is unless the message was kept too close to the couriers heart and his sweat washed out the juices.
In todays world they have many electronic and manual devices to do the same job. That these devices exist does not mean they are secure. If I use ABC Corporations encryption program who besides me has the software to decrypt the messages? This is a bug in the ointment. If a company makes encryption software there are two significant pieces of information I don't know.
1.Is there a part of the program which will decrypt my messages for the government without my permission that they were given so they can have a contract?
2.Is there a special decryption program written by the company just to break their encryption?
Is this paranoid? Probably, but live by the rule better safe than sorry. Specially when there is a way around the issue. It dates bay almost 200 tears and works as well as it did then. In fact it was used by the military in Vietnam and up until the advent of digital security devices was the back bone of all messages sent by electronics and manual means.
That is the use of the Tri-Graph and the Vernier. The tri-graph was incorporated into the onetime pads and Communications Electronics Operating Instructions the radio operators carried.
When use together the message encrypted by them will probably take the average of 24 to 48 hours to break using a high speed computer. When use separate the time is halved. So how can this be? Watch The Tri-Graph is simply a form for writing out your message and ploting the results.
1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
6 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
11 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
each line holds 5 characters on three levels thus Tri-Graph. The top line is for your message in 5 letter groups so the character count is hidden. It is also easier for a Morse Code operator to send 5 letter groups.
The second line is for the encryption phrases to listed.
The third line is for the resultant of the two letters above to be found on the Vernier.
The vernier is a columnar listing of the alphabet both vertical and Horizontal.
These can be made on the spot or carried in a pouch. To create one start in column 1 first line with the letter “A”. Then write the alphabet from A to Z both Top to bottom and Left to right. The second line is B to A. Third line C to B, and so on till you have 26 character across and 26 charters down in 26 rows and 26 columns.
I have met Morse Operators in the Army who don't need the Vernier since they have memorized it. The vernier is not the code. The code is what goes on line 2. That is provided on a source sheet. In the teams it came on what was called 'One time pads”. They were generated back in garrison and each team had one that was theirs alone. If they needed to contact another team they had a special pad for that. These Pads were simply 100 characters in 5 letter groups on a 3 X 4 piece of paper with an accellerant in the paper to make them burn quickly.
Since I doubt we will ever get that sophisticated I will teach the back up communications means. If a team lost their pads or went missing at communications check in times over 2 hours all of their pads were considered compromised and they were considered captured or dead and the person sending was considered an enemy agent.
To re-establish their identity they had to make it back to civilization and make personal contact with a special greeting to ensure they were who they claimed to be. If this is not possible due to the fighting or physical distances there was a back up encryption they could use. The commander would place this back up sheet in the team folder in a sealed envelope signed on the flaps and seals by the team chief, radio man and the Commander.
This sheet was a phrase known only to the Team Chief, the Commander, and the Radio Operator. It was typed in 5 letter groups. It was from either a chapter of the Bible, the Constitution, or a page from the State Drivers license manual. Things that a soldier can have on their person and not attract attention if they are captured.
When used the radio Operator will use that document to re-establish their connection and to establish a face to face for new One time pads.
The one I remember is John 3:16. It is long enough to actually encrypt a message without repeating itself.
“For god so loved the world he gave his only begotten son” 45 characters Lets do one
T U R N T H E W A T E R O F F W I T H A S P A N N E R E O M
F O R G O D S O L O V E D T H E W O R L D H E G A V E H I S
Z Z Z Z Z
O N L Y B
Then you go to the Vernier you built and find the letter in line one on the vertical first column. Then scroll across to the letter on line two. The encrypted letter in on the top row. Write this below the two letter already entered. When
T U R N T H E W A T E R O F F W I T H A S P A N N E R E O M
F O R G O D S O L O V E D T H E W O R L D H E G A V E H I S
M B A T V W O S K V R N P O C I O V K K L S D T Z R N D U G
Z Z Z Z Z
O N L Y B
P O M Z C
What is sent is : MBATV WOSKV RNPOC IOVKK LSDTZ RNDUG POMZC
Here is a vernier for you to use.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A
C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B
D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C
E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D
F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E
G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F
H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G
I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H
J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I
K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J
L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K
M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M
O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N
P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P
R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q
S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R
T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S
U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T
V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U
W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W
Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X
Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y
When writing a message there are no spaces except the 5 characters breaks. Thus when reading it out loud on a radio every thing is a letter only. When encrypting on the top line of the vernier you go to the bottom line for the top letter. This is because the physical vernier is on a round spool with no top and no bottom.
The POWs in the Hanoi Hilton used this type of encryption to tap messages on the pipes and bars that the guards could hear, but without the encryption key it was just unauthorized noise and the prisoner if caught had their hand cut off.
To decode the message find your letter on the top horizontal line. Come down to the decryption letter on the lines down and look to the left side for the answer. Just the reverse of the encoding. While this way takes some time and skill a person who uses this will soon be able to do the encryption from memorizing the Vernier.
The next trick is that you never send a message by itself. Most time you will by CSOI establish that 3 to 5 groups (always an odd number) of 5 random letters will inserted at the beginning, and or the end or both of all messages. This prevents their computers from knowing where to look for encrypted letters.
The next trick is that all messages will be sent in a preset format and only the data never the whole line is sent.
Such as :
WAR MSG
1.Time: 0030Z
2. DATE 01262012
3.MOVEMENT; TYPE 15
4.DIRECTION: 370 DEG
5.SPEED: 6KM
Your message would be :
WM005 0030Z 01262 012TY PE15B RK370 DEG6K MZZZZ
These type of preset messages also make encryption much easier and save a lot of time sending when sending could collect an artillery response.
Remember that no communications means no resupply. However long winded communications could mean a body bag so every transmission should be from a different location and if possible from a high noise level to keep your radio in the mass.
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