I added some reconstructed ciphers in "Cardinal Mazarin and Ciphers". Thus far, the article mentioned "BnF fr.23202, which I have not seen" at one place, but recently I noticed it is available online.
One of the reconstructed ciphers is used in many letters in the period overlapping Mazrin's two exiles (1651, 1652).
11/02/2024
Reading Scrolls Carbonized in Ancient Vesuvius Eruption without Unwrapping
PC's newsfeed made me aware of deciphering of text on carbonized ancient scrolls without unwrapping (NBC News). (This "deciphering" has nothing to do with cryptography.)
A whole library of an ancient villa survived centuries under the earth, carbonized by the heat of the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which engulfed Pompeii and Herculaneum, where the villa was located. The library contained more than 1800 papyrus scrolls, of which some were presented to Britain and France in the nineteenth century (Wikipedia).
Early attemps to read the content were a destructive study, breaking the carbonized scrolls into pieces ("The Library of the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum", reviewing David Sider (2005), The library of the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum; "Twelve Books at Herculaneum That Could Change History" by Richard Carrier).
In 2011, Brent Seales et al. reported "virtual unrolling" of a Herculaneum scroll (Brent Seales et al., "Analysis of Herculaneum Papyri with X-ray Computed Tomography" (NDT, Semantic Scholar)). Virtual unrolling or virtual unwrapping is a non-destructive modality and begins by scanning a scroll with X-ray tomography (as in a CT scan) to produce a 3D volumetric image of the scroll, in which single layers are identified by intensive manual labour ("segmentation"). Once layers are segmented, they can be mapped onto planar images.
At this stage, Seales could not detect any text because carbon-based ink could not be contrasted from carbonized papyrus with his X-ray scan. In 2016, Seales succeeded in revealing text of a scroll found at En-Gedi, Israel, that had been charred in a fire, in which the ink contained lead readily identifiable with X-rays.
Detection of carbon-based ink was achieved by using X-ray phase-contrast tomography, whereby a slight difference in thickness caused by the presence of ink can be detected in phase difference of X-rays. With this method, successful decoding of some fragments of two Herculaneum scrolls (PHerc. 375 and PHerc. 495) was reported in 2016 (Bukreeva et al. (2016), "Virtual unrolling and deciphering of Herculaneum papyri by X-ray phase-contrast tomography" (Scientific Reports), Stabile et al. (2021), "A computational platform for the virtual unfolding of Herculaneum Papyri" (NIH)).
Seales' team adopted an approach that combines scanning with high-energy X-rays with identifying ink by machine learning trained with image data with visible text in ink (The Guardian).
Seales' work inspired the Vesuvius Challenge, launched in March 2023 by Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, and Brent Seales. It offered a Grand Prize for recovering 4 passages of 140 characters as well as smaller prizes for contributions on the way. It was reccognized that the task was not easy, and the organizers hired a segmentation team to manually identify and label the papyrus surface in the volumetric data (PHerc.Paris. 4) and provide the flattened segments as an open source. It led to discovery of "the first directly visible evidence of ink and letters" by Casey Handmer (his blog) and close collaboration between the in-house segmenters and contestants drove the work (Vesuvius Challenge 2023 Grand Prize awarded).
In October 2023, Luke Farritor won First Letters Prize, a progress prize that required finding at least 10 letters in a 4 cm2 area. He used machine learning to find ink patterns. Detected patterns were fed back for training the machine learning model, which thereby learned to detect letters that cannot be recognized with his eyes. In his discovery, papyrologists on the organizing team could immediately recognize a word "porphyras" (First word discovered in unopened Herculaneum scroll by 21yo computer science student). Youssef Nader won a second-place prize for independently finding the same word shortly later.
In February 2024, the Grand Prize was awarded to a team of Youssef Nader, Luke Farritor, and Julian Schilliger. They achieved much more than required for the prize, revealing more than 2000 characters in total.
Still, about 95% of the scroll are yet to be read, and the Vesuvius Challenge offers further prizes for 2024!
A whole library of an ancient villa survived centuries under the earth, carbonized by the heat of the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which engulfed Pompeii and Herculaneum, where the villa was located. The library contained more than 1800 papyrus scrolls, of which some were presented to Britain and France in the nineteenth century (Wikipedia).
Early attemps to read the content were a destructive study, breaking the carbonized scrolls into pieces ("The Library of the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum", reviewing David Sider (2005), The library of the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum; "Twelve Books at Herculaneum That Could Change History" by Richard Carrier).
In 2011, Brent Seales et al. reported "virtual unrolling" of a Herculaneum scroll (Brent Seales et al., "Analysis of Herculaneum Papyri with X-ray Computed Tomography" (NDT, Semantic Scholar)). Virtual unrolling or virtual unwrapping is a non-destructive modality and begins by scanning a scroll with X-ray tomography (as in a CT scan) to produce a 3D volumetric image of the scroll, in which single layers are identified by intensive manual labour ("segmentation"). Once layers are segmented, they can be mapped onto planar images.
At this stage, Seales could not detect any text because carbon-based ink could not be contrasted from carbonized papyrus with his X-ray scan. In 2016, Seales succeeded in revealing text of a scroll found at En-Gedi, Israel, that had been charred in a fire, in which the ink contained lead readily identifiable with X-rays.
Detection of carbon-based ink was achieved by using X-ray phase-contrast tomography, whereby a slight difference in thickness caused by the presence of ink can be detected in phase difference of X-rays. With this method, successful decoding of some fragments of two Herculaneum scrolls (PHerc. 375 and PHerc. 495) was reported in 2016 (Bukreeva et al. (2016), "Virtual unrolling and deciphering of Herculaneum papyri by X-ray phase-contrast tomography" (Scientific Reports), Stabile et al. (2021), "A computational platform for the virtual unfolding of Herculaneum Papyri" (NIH)).
Seales' team adopted an approach that combines scanning with high-energy X-rays with identifying ink by machine learning trained with image data with visible text in ink (The Guardian).
Seales' work inspired the Vesuvius Challenge, launched in March 2023 by Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, and Brent Seales. It offered a Grand Prize for recovering 4 passages of 140 characters as well as smaller prizes for contributions on the way. It was reccognized that the task was not easy, and the organizers hired a segmentation team to manually identify and label the papyrus surface in the volumetric data (PHerc.Paris. 4) and provide the flattened segments as an open source. It led to discovery of "the first directly visible evidence of ink and letters" by Casey Handmer (his blog) and close collaboration between the in-house segmenters and contestants drove the work (Vesuvius Challenge 2023 Grand Prize awarded).
In October 2023, Luke Farritor won First Letters Prize, a progress prize that required finding at least 10 letters in a 4 cm2 area. He used machine learning to find ink patterns. Detected patterns were fed back for training the machine learning model, which thereby learned to detect letters that cannot be recognized with his eyes. In his discovery, papyrologists on the organizing team could immediately recognize a word "porphyras" (First word discovered in unopened Herculaneum scroll by 21yo computer science student). Youssef Nader won a second-place prize for independently finding the same word shortly later.
In February 2024, the Grand Prize was awarded to a team of Youssef Nader, Luke Farritor, and Julian Schilliger. They achieved much more than required for the prize, revealing more than 2000 characters in total.
Still, about 95% of the scroll are yet to be read, and the Vesuvius Challenge offers further prizes for 2024!
10/02/2024
Encryption for Security of Satellites
Thousands of satellites are orbiting the Earth. Naturally, they are wirelessly controlled with signals from a terrestrial station. Malicious control signals from an unauthorized entity might result in serious consequences ("Cybersecurity Principles for Space Systems" (2020)). Frequencies used in communication with satellites are not disclosed and messages are encrypted. But hackers might access such information, or might simply hack the ground station (車も衛星もハッキングされる時代！？注目が集まる衛星のサイバーセキュリティ (2021)). There are reported instances of actual hacking of satellites ("Hack a Satellite while it is in orbit" (2007), "AsiaSat accuses Falungong of hacking satellite signals" (2004) cited in Wikipedia).
CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data System), an international standardization body since 1982, has a security work group, which has issued documents such as "Green Book on use of security in CCSDS" and "CCSDS Encryption Algorithms and authentication algorithms" among others (CCSDS Overview by NASA, p.14).
The encryption scheme specified for controlling satellites is, as expected, AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), a symmetric block cipher adopted for the US government in 2001 as a replacement for DES (Data Encryption Standard). The Green Book "CCSDS Cryptographic Algorithms" (2023) prescribes "AES is the sole symmetric encryption algorithm that is recommended for use by all CCSDS missions and ground systems." (The same expression is found at least as early as the 2014 version, but not in a 2012 Blue Book).
What was used before AES was recommended by CCSDS? One might think it was DES, but actually, "at first security was thought of as not required for civilian space missions by CCSDS", according to the 2008 Green Book "Encryption Algorithm Trade Survey". Indeed, one patent document JP 2000-341190 A1 says communication with satellites needs to be encrypted "for artificial satellites for specific purposes." Even today, researchers point out security measures for satellites are no more than "security by obscurity" ("Satellites Are Rife With Basic Security Flaws" (2023)).
CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data System), an international standardization body since 1982, has a security work group, which has issued documents such as "Green Book on use of security in CCSDS" and "CCSDS Encryption Algorithms and authentication algorithms" among others (CCSDS Overview by NASA, p.14).
The encryption scheme specified for controlling satellites is, as expected, AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), a symmetric block cipher adopted for the US government in 2001 as a replacement for DES (Data Encryption Standard). The Green Book "CCSDS Cryptographic Algorithms" (2023) prescribes "AES is the sole symmetric encryption algorithm that is recommended for use by all CCSDS missions and ground systems." (The same expression is found at least as early as the 2014 version, but not in a 2012 Blue Book).
What was used before AES was recommended by CCSDS? One might think it was DES, but actually, "at first security was thought of as not required for civilian space missions by CCSDS", according to the 2008 Green Book "Encryption Algorithm Trade Survey". Indeed, one patent document JP 2000-341190 A1 says communication with satellites needs to be encrypted "for artificial satellites for specific purposes." Even today, researchers point out security measures for satellites are no more than "security by obscurity" ("Satellites Are Rife With Basic Security Flaws" (2023)).
07/02/2024
Japanese Cipher Machine Green (Not Japanese Enigma)
Japanese cipher machines include RED, ORANGE, PURPLE, JADE, etc. Relatively unknown of the series is GREEN. Some sources say GREEN is a US codename for 3-Shiki Kaejiki (三式換字機), known as the Japanese Enigma, but the picture on the book that seems to be the source of this association shows it is not the GREEN machine as recorded by US cryptanalysts.
GREEN is a codename for a cipher machine, 1-Shiki 1-Go Injiki (一式一号印字機), of the Imperial Japanese Army captured at Baguio in the Philippines in May 1945.
I learned all these from Chris Christensen, whose new paper, "The Japanese Green Machine" in Cryptologia is now published online. I believe this is the first detailed account of the real Japanese Green machine.
I learned all these from Chris Christensen, whose new paper, "The Japanese Green Machine" in Cryptologia is now published online. I believe this is the first detailed account of the real Japanese Green machine.
03/02/2024
Dutch Windmill Code?
Windmill Code Used by Dutch Resistance?
Windmills are part of the Dutch landscape. According to Wikipedia, the positions of sails of Dutch windmills were "used to signal the local region during Nazi operations in World War II, such as searches for Jews." If this text (present from the first version of 2 March 2023) was taken from Goleta Valley Historical Society) (present as early as in August 2022), the paragraph break in the latter suggests that the signalling was made by one specific position of the sails. If so, the information conveyed would have been no more than an on/off alarm.According to Traces of War, the windmill Vrijheid in Beesd "was used in World War II by the resistance to sent messages by the position of the wings. To commemorate this, the hitherto unnamed mill was named "The Freedom (De Vrijheid)" after the renovation in 1968." According to machine translation of the explanation board, the position of the sails was indeed used to pass on information, and the name "de Vrijheid" was given in commemoration of the efforts to regain freedom during the war, but the connection between the passing of information and war-time efforts is not clear. But Wikipedia confirms "During World War II, the mill was used to send signals to the Dutch resistance. This was done by the position that the sails were set at."
Traditional Meaning of Windmill Positions at Rest
At least, it seems certain that the position of the sails of a windmill at rest has been traditionally used to convey some meaning, though there is discrepancy among sources about the specific meaning. According to one source, a position slightly tilted to the left means joy; a position slightly tilted to the right means mourning; a straight position like "+" means a short rest (no operation for a few days); a diagonal position like "x" means a long rest (no operation for weeks), etc. (Olie Molen de Passiebloem). The same image (reproduced below) is posted on many websites (Google).This form of expression was actually used in some public occasions. Windmills were placed in "mourning position" when many Dutch people were killed in a Malaysian aircraft shot down in 2014 (CNN quoted in Wikipedia) as well as when Prince Friso died in 2013 because of a skiing accident (PresReader, wind mill sign language in Holland).
Long Distance Communication like Optical Telegraphy
Regarding communication more than a simple expression of some meaning, apart from Wikipedia, the magazine Popular Mechanics (June 1908), p.365 (Google) reports the Dutch government's experiment to use windmill signaling for military purposes between mills some miles distant. It says secret code had been used "from generation to generation of millers." (The idea is similar to the optical telegraphy known from the eighteenth century.)Use by German Agents?
According to Cathleen Small, Code Breakers and Spies of World War II (Google), p.13, during the First World War, German agents used starts/stops of the sails of Dutch windmills to transmit messages in Morse code.
02/02/2024
English Ciphers during the Restoration Period
Many English ciphers from the Restoration Period are preserved in TNA SP106/6 and BL Add MS 40677. I uploaded a new article "English Ciphers during the Restoration Period" about these.
Some of these ciphers use printed templates, which are already discussed in another article, which is now a bit supplemented and renamed as "Diplomatic Codes after the Glorious Revolution and Use of Printed Templates".
Some of these ciphers use printed templates, which are already discussed in another article, which is now a bit supplemented and renamed as "Diplomatic Codes after the Glorious Revolution and Use of Printed Templates".
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