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Tag: historical cryptography

3 articles

Stack of vintage papers with handwritten notes and diagrams on a formal archive room table.

Turing's Voice Encryption System Uncovered in Wartime Papers

A treasure trove of wartime papers, known as the "Bayley papers," has surfaced in London, selling for nearly $500,000 and revealing groundbreaking details about Alan Turing's pioneering voice encryption system. This long-hidden collection has finally been transferred into the public sphere, offering historians and technologists a fascinating glimpse into Turing's secret work.

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Researchers surrounded by old books and manuscripts use a computer to display a decrypted medieval cipher in a library…

Machine Learning Decrypts Medieval Ciphers

Researchers are harnessing the power of machine learning algorithms to crack medieval codes, bringing ancient secrets to life with modern technology. By applying these innovative techniques, they're unlocking the mysteries hidden within historical pencil-and-paper ciphers.

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Scholars' workspace with candlelit manuscript and scattered parchments.

Academics Crack 15th-Century Diplomatic Cipher

Meet Pedro de Ayala, a 15th-century diplomat who took infosec to new heights by encrypting sensitive royal gossip with clever symbols - only to have his secrets cracked 500 years later by some codebreaking academics. His creative encryption method, which combined symbol substitutions with deliberate omissions, kept his messages safe from prying eyes for centuries.

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