Cracking Enigma Messages from WW2
Klaus Schmeh

Hundreds of thousands of Enigma messages were solved by the Allies in WW2. However, as good as no original Enigma cleartext has survived until today. Even most of the original ciphertexts are lost, only a few thousands have been found in the archives so far. In recent years, several Enigma experts have started projects aiming at cracking WW2 Enigma messages with modern algorithms and computer support. This presentation gives an overview on the Enigma messages currently available and on the different projects trying to solve them. It explains the computer-based methods used to crack Enigma messages, and it will show how these methods differ from the ones applied in WW2. Hundreds of Enigma messages from WW2 have already been solved, with some of them revealing interesting historical information. However, there is still a lot of work to do. Many potential sources (e.g. archives) for original Enigma messages still have not been searched. In addition, many of the encrypted messages already known have never been taken care of. At the end of the talk eight unsolved Enigma messages will be shown ("Enigmatic Eight"). They may serve as indicators for the progress in Enigma message encryption in future years.