17 Dec
2003
17 Dec
'03
11:17 p.m.
John Young writes:
"U.S. Tells How It Found Soviets Sought A-Bomb: Discloses Clues That Led to Code-Breaking."
The American intelligence establishment today unveiled one of its oldest secrets: how a small team of codebreakers found the first clues that the Soviet Union sought to steal the blueprints for the atomic bomb in World War II. Using just brain power -- no computers, no stolen skeleton keys -- the cryptographers slowly cracked what was thought to be an unbreakable code.
The reports claimed the spys were using one time pads in some flawed manner, but did not explain very well what the problem was. Does anyone out there know? .pm