Math Club. Friday, February 07, 2014.

Speaker: Aaron Feickert

Title. Riddle Me This: Exploring the Enigma Cipher

Abstract. The Enigma was a machine-based cipher used by the German military in the second World War to protect war correspondence in the field. Despite the apparent complexity of the machine, Polish and British cryptanalysts broke the cipher using some wicked awesome mathematics. In this talk, we will explore how the Enigma cipher works using paper simulators, encrypt and decrypt messages, and uncover some of the mathematics underlying this famous cipher. If time permits, we will briefly discuss the techniques used by Marian Rejewski, Alan Turing, and others to break the cipher. This talk requires no mathematical background and will be accessible to everyone!