Edgar and Allan “[take] a particular (some might say ‘peculiar’) interest in things that others [disregard] as mere mistakes, because they [believe] that oddities and seeming coincidences [are] actually the world’s way of communicating secret messages” (41). What the twins don’t realize, of course, is that their great-great-great-great granduncle is writing and sending those coded messages to try and help them avoid danger! In the real world, secret codes are frequently used to secure data, transmit secret information, and protect national security. What should we know about the science behind secret codes and how they are used?
- Find out how and why encrypted codes work.
- Distinguish “cryptology,” cryptography,” and “cryptanalysis.”
- Watch this video to get a sneak peek inside the National Cryptologic Museum and learn how cryptologists helped the U.S. win the Battle of Midway and end World War II in the Pacific. Meanwhile, code breakers at England’s top secret Bletchley Park developed the Enigma machine to crack German secret codes and help end the war in Europe. How might the course of history have been changed if the Allies had not made such rapid advances in cryptanalysis?
- Consider how the principles of cryptology have been adapted to encrypt (or protect) data transmitted via computers and the Internet.
- Now that you know how secret codes work, practice decrypting secret messages using cypher tools you’ll find here and here.
For what kind of jobs are cryptology skills a must? How so?