Human factors and missed solutions to Enigma design weaknesses. Issue 2 (3rd March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Thimbleby, Harold
• Is Part Of: Cryptologia. Volume 40:Issue 2(2016)
• Page Start: 177
• Page End: 202
• Publication Date: 2016-03-03
• Subjects: Enigma -- human factors -- reciprocal coding weakness -- self-coding weakness -- situational awareness; Cryptography -- Periodicals; 652.8
• DOI: 10.1080/01611194.2015.1028680
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0161-1194

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The German World War II Enigma suffered from design weaknesses that facilitated its large-scale decryption by the British throughout the war. The author shows that the main technical weaknesses (self-coding and reciprocal coding) could have been avoided using simple contemporary technology, and therefore the true cause of the weaknesses is not technological but must be sought elsewhere. Specifically, human factors issues resulted in the persistent failure to seek out more effective designs. Similar limitations seem to beset the literature on the period, which misunderstands the Enigma weaknesses and therefore inhibits broader thinking about design or realising the critical role of human factors engineering in cryptography.