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Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.crypt
Subject: Re: Historical Stamp
Message-ID: <3810@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 30-Apr-84 20:19:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: utzoo.3810
Posted: Mon Apr 30 20:19:19 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 30-Apr-84 20:19:19 EDT
References: <4098@utcsrgv.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 14

To quote from crypt(1):

	...Methods of attack on such machines are known, but not widely;
	moreover the amount of work required is likely to be large.

It is thought that rotor systems no longer hold any great mysteries for
organizations like the NSA, but a rotor system would still be a major
challenge to a non-professional.  I've seen an outline of a method for
attacking such systems.  It's not trivial.  At the very least, breaking
crypt(1) would require a knowledgeable cipher enthusiast, quite a bit of
encrypted material to work with, and a lot of effort.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry