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Encryption Security

Stolen Enigma Found 77

Posted by Hemos from the seek-and-ye-shall-find dept.
Ian Pointer writes "The BBC is reporting that the Enigma machine stolen from Bletchley Park has been delivered to Jeremy Paxman (a BBC journalist), and is now safe. Just thought you'd all feel better knowing." You can read the original article in which we talked about it being stolen.
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Stolen Enigma Found More

Stolen Enigma Found

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  • DECSS (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Has anyone punched DeCSS through enigma yet?
  • Paxman's a good friend of Robert Harris, who wrote the novel Enigma. (In fact, I think he's godfather to Harris's children.) The two of them wrote a book together in the 80s about chemical warfare, called A Higher Form of Killing. Since Harris isn't so much of a public figure, I'd imagine that the bloke with the stolen Enigma thought Paxman was the next best thing.
  • How about this for a conspiracy theory.

    Hollywood releases film that utterly misrepresents who was responsible for breaking the german codes.

    UK historical institutions get a bit upset about it.

    Museum "loses" enigma machine.

    Worlds press cover enigma and what it was all really about.

    Everyone gets a correct understanding of enigma

    UK historical institutions get all smug.

    Q.E.D.

    Worlds
  • Not a BBC journalist, the BBC journalist... Point taken. I was just in a rush to get it posted (my first accepted submission!!!), and I didn't really want to call him an anchorman 8-).

  • Clearly, The Master stole it with the intent of entering it into the AES contest, hoping that Enigma would win and and UNIT would adopt the new (weak) standard, and then he would be able to eavesdrop on conversations between Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and The Doctor, with the ultimate goal being to trap and kill The Doctor.

    When Rijndael won the AES decision instead, The Master had no further use for the device, and in a rare instance of sentinmentality and compassion for the Earthlings, he returned it.


    ---
  • Interesting that they are referring to a four rotor machine in the story but the picture at the top of the article is of a three rotor machine...
    --
    *Condense fact from the vapor of nuance*
    25: ten.knilrevlis@wkcuhc
  • Why the hell is /. munging HTML posts that are previewed? For God's sake, if you want me to preview before I post, quit fucking up the tags.

    That's twice has turned into /a &amp ; which royally screws up posts.

    ARGH!

    Eric
  • Three of the four wheels have been removed, according to the article. It sounds like probably either the thief kept, destroyed, or is planning on ransoming the other three... then again, it may not be the same one that was stolen at all?

    ---
    click a button, feed a hungry person!
  • A quick scan of the article did not make it clear whether the museum cravenly paid the ransom or not. If so would this not set off a rash of thefts from museums followed by ransom demands from "unwitting" buyers? I can hardly wait.


    --
  • ...delivered to Jeremy Paxman (a BBC journalist)...

    Not a BBC journalist, the BBC journalist...


    Note for non-UKians: Jezza Paxman is a notorious talking-head famous for verbal jousting with MPs and other officials on "Newsnight". Often amusing to watch, he's also renowned for being a bit of a prima-donna with... how can I put it?... somewhat of an ego problem...

    More seriously, anyone with a plausible explanation of why HE should be sent the missing Enigma deserves a +5 moderation...

  • Just watched Newsnight. Apparently the three code wheels were not returned with the machine (the reflector wheel was), so this isn't the end of the story yet.
  • It's great that the Enigma Machine is back. However it is curious that it was returned so easily - discounting the cost of time.

    Were the theives fearful of the threat of the Polic and the Media? I wonder if perhaps the Enigma was put to actual use. Could some private collector have some war documents that they wanted to decode first hand? Something along similar lines?
  • Perhaps he wasn't sent it. Perhaps he's had it all along.

  • Hm.. (Score:1)

    by windex ( 92715 )
    I initally suggested that the holder of the artifact simply return it in the last article, and got flamed for it. Looks like there aren't so many bad people in the world afterall...
  • Eliminate the buyer and you are left with a reporter who's hungry for a news story!

    Police interview:

    Paxton: Here it is! I got it in the mail.

    Police: Really?! Who sent it to you?

    Paxton: I don't know.

    Police: Well then, why don't you hang around while we get this sorted out. We've got some nice rooms for people like you.

    Paxton: Wait!

  • Police: Verry funny, Mr. Paxton. Save it for your lawey. Off to jail!
  • Is the NSA stole it in an attempt to develope a "new" copyrighted encryption scheme to boycott all going to be non-USA cuecat competitors with.
    They failed in their lame attempt however.
  • Unfortunately, the three encryption wheels are missing, which are fundamental in making it work. You can't use the wheels from other machines either.

    The person demanding the ransom has obviously sent the box back in the same way a kidnapper might send a couple of fingers.

    I expect we'll see a continued ransom demand for the wheels.
  • It was reported on Radio 4 this morning that the enigma machine has been returned but there are pieces missing.....
  • hmm maybe 'cept there are numerous enigma emulators around
    .oO0Oo.
  • Look, this is the key issue here, that the machine has *not* been returned safely at all! Without these wheels, the machine is useless. It can't encrypt. It's missing the cyphering mechanism...
  • Matthew McConnaghey, Harvey Keitel and the other heroic American submariners were unavailable.
  • US Navy Commando's stole it and took off in a captured German U-Boat. I swear, I saw it on film!
  • Newsnight [bbc.co.uk] starts in 45 minutes.

  • For those interested in seeing the inside of one of these things without going to the UK or stealing one here's a link [arizona.edu] with lots of photos.

  • Was the requested ransom money paid out?
    No, but the BBC is reporting that there are still some parts missing, and its believed that these will be held onto for ransom.
  • ...famous for verbal jousting with MPs and other officials on "Newsnight".

    Not so much of the jousting, more a sort of ripping to shreads. Except when he appears to get bored and he cuts them off short. He has put the fun back into politics for me.

    However, he let Bill Gates off easily when he interviewed him, which was very dissapointing. It wasn't part of the Newsnight program, so may be Bill's people had everything tied down in advance.

  • Aparently, according to Paxman himself on Newsnight last night, the package was received in the BBC offices last week sometime, and was left unopened until yesterday...

    The machine is still missing three of the four rotors as well.
  • Why is it when American nonentities get a mention (Al Gore, Bill Gates, George W, Natalie Portman, Earl Dodge, etc..) there's no sort of description about who they are or what they do, but when one of the greatest living Englishmen is mentioned he is denigrated with the sobriquet (sp?) "BBC journalist"?

    As if you crazy Yanks don't know who he is! For shame!

  • ...the BBC also notes that the Enigma device now seems to be able to output DeCSS when certain keystrokes are pressed. It is also reported to have a Napster client. When told of the startling new additions to the venerable encoding device, museum directors replied, "What the hell, it's close enough. At least those damned jerries haven't got it anymore."
  • I have just created my own non-profit group. I now pronounce the GNU Project dead. From this moment it will be refered to as the ENL (pronounced anal). Please begin to sign over all of your copyrighted software to the ENL foundation. Thank you for your cooperation Linus.

  • ... they should get in contact with Saint Tail! I bet she could find the rotors in no time at all! ^_^
  • Looking at the messages so far, I simply see bad jokes, etc, but none of the real issues. Why is it that people will steal artifacts that have quite a bit of both emotional, and sentimental value to much of the world? Perhaps just as important, why do people ransom such devices and threaten to destroy them?

    It just doesn't make sense to me, perhaps someone could enlighten me.

  • It was an offering to appease the great god Paxman. Call him not just "a BBC journalist", lest he scythe you down with his fearful razor sharp tongue.

    Sheesh. And to think yesterday they let me play at moderating.

  • Anthony Sale, founder of the Bletchley Park Museums, will talk about the British effort during WWII to break the German Enigma code and the development of the Colossus computer used in that effort. The talk is on Thursday, October 19 at 8:00pm - Check out this [berkeley.edu] link for details.
  • My guess is that the eBay machine is a "commercial" version of the enigma. The militay versions have a "fold-down" front that reveals the plugboard (stecker). From the pictures on eBay I don't see the little hooks that hold the front of the box on that would normally be there in a military version. I don't know what the remote lampboard is on the eBay version. Anyone know? - Mike
  • Let me get this straight:

    Said Enigma machine is stolen. Some neutral third party buys it not knowing it's stolen. Said third party discovers its stolen and claims that it was bought in "good faith" and then proceeds to threaten to destroy it if a ransom is not paid.

    If it is bought in good faith, why would they simply not return it for what they spent on it (plus a cash reward because people are motivated by money).

    All smells fishy to me. . .

  • The person who asked for the ranson claimed that he'd bought it in good faith. I'm just a little sceptical. You'd think that an enigma collector might have noticed the massive news coverage that the theft got in the UK. Or even seen on slashdot. Pull the other one mate.
  • Apparently three of the four rotor wheels are missing. Don't know how different these rotors are from 'normal' Enigma machines.
  • Hmm.. Maybe he opened the package because he knew what it contained - Could this all be an elaborate ploy for attention? Perhaps Jeremy Paxman is the mysterious culprit who had the enigma stolen in the first place?

    The wheels of conspiracy just keep on rolling..


    --------------------------------------
  • Unfortunately whom ever returned the machine removed 3 of the 4 code rings, these items apparently cannot be substitued with others. I would imagine the blackmailer will still be looking to collect a ransom.
  • Paxman is a notorious talking-head famous for verbal jousting with MPs and other officials on "Newsnight"

    I always thought that his theme-tune should be
    "Paxman. Yeah, I'm the Paxman. And you answer to no-one but me" (sorry, George [geocities.com])

    HH
  • Apparently the Bletchley Park museum is now having a new security system installed. Must go there sometime, since it's only about an hour's ride away (as the Ducati flies).

    HH
  • Another fine museum [commonlink.com] to visit!
    (Particularly if you plan to get past the TWO chihuahua's the upgraded security system will next employ)


    --
    Chief Frog Inspector
  • Ah, a happy ending to this tale.

    So who will start work on cs_enigma? This would make a great CS map!

  • Three of the encoding wheels from the enigma machine have been confermed missing so the machine is know incomplete and will not work. (you can not just replace the wheels with any enigma wheel it has to be the right one) I think that the machine was givenup but the ransom will continue over the wheels.

  • Cool (Score:1)

    by tmark ( 230091 )
    Good to hear this. I wonder if this means that's the end of the Enigma posts on /. for a while ? Nah, doubt it.
  • The one in e-Bay looks like a different lineage than the German military ones (not surprising, really -- you wouldn't expect them to sell the good stuff to foreign governments). From the photos, it appears to be lacking the plugboard (I think called a "stecker" that the military ones had). I'm not sure, but I don't think the two piece design (separate indicator box) was used in the military enigma, either. In any event, it's a pretty cool item. But a bit beyond my discretionary budget, alas.

  • The reports on this enigma machine made it sound like the guy who took it knew how to use it

    That's what you think, you should have seen his posts on usenet, the guy is quite clueless.
  • So the enigma of the theft of Enigma remains an enigma in its return.
  • {Not funny}
    To obtain that which we all worship more than anything? You know, money?
    {/not funny}

    Now we can get on with the crappy jokes...
  • I'm sure they have enough pictures of the machine. Why doesn't someone take the time to build a copy? That way we can throw the old worn out machine in the trash can. We're living in a digital age. Who cares about the original so long as we can make cheap copies?

  • Paxman is an awesome journalist, very smart, probing and is not intimidated by Politicians, in fact a lot of politicians are genuinely scared of him, he finishes careers.

    He humiliated Michael Howard the then Home Secretary, in an infamous Newsnight interview by repeating a question, which Howard refused to answer 14 times.

    Quite a few interviewees just walk out. The current leader of the opposition William Hauge (nickname is Vague Hauge) refuses to be interviewed by him.

  • The missing enigma is one of only two surviving 4 rotor models in existence, most survivors are 3 rotor. The picture is probably from the BBC libary rather than the actual machine.

  • Reverse engineering (Score:2)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Somebody must have stolen and reverse engineered it. Bastards!
  • Was the requested ransom money paid out?
  • This is wonderfull news. I never felt that there was any real closure to the end of U-571. The next time I watch the movie, I'll be able to walk away with a smile, and perhaps even a comment to myself: "maybe we will win the war after all."
  • Its good to hear the enigma is safe again. Its always a shame when something totally irreplacable like that disappears..

    The whole story was kind weird though. Totally reminded me of Cryptonomicon, with the character Enoch Root mysteriously showing up years later. The reports on this enigma machine made it sound like the guy who took it knew how to use it, and had a real familiarity with it, which made me imagine that he used on during WWII. Now we just have to ask this guy where the Japanese gold is buried...
  • First we get a story Coincidence? I think not...8*P [slashdot.org]

    This is a joke. This is only a joke.

    Eric

  • Could some private collector have some war documents that they wanted to decode first hand?

    Having an Enigma isn't going to help much, you don't actually need one to decypher any Enigma encyphered documents anyway.
  • Interesting that they are referring to a four rotor machine in the story but the picture at the top of the article is of a three rotor machine...

    The machine has 3 rotors (which are still missing). The confusion comes from the reflector, which looks similar to a rotor.
  • Said Enigma machine is stolen. Some neutral third party buys it not knowing it's stolen. Said third party discovers its stolen and claims that it was bought in "good faith" and then proceeds to threaten to destroy it if a ransom is not paid.

    If you buy stolen property you explicitally don't own it. Your only recourse is to sue the person who sold it to you.
    Handling stolen property is in itself an offence. Though unlikely to be prosecuted if the person were immediatly return the item to it's owners or the police.
  • I mean, a 50-year-old machine that delivered suppositories to constipated soldiers? Sounds like something you'd want to be rid of. ;)

    EMUSE.NET [emuse.net]
  • why the hell was that moderated "offtopic"? It's a link to the damn Ebay auction where some dude claims to be selling an Enigma!

    -tim
  • ... that the machine was stolen by The Master? Perhaps the Doctor had a hand in its return, and all those jokes about winning WWII now are not so far off the mark! Oops, hold on a minute, got to use my Sonic Screwdriver to repel some pesky Daleks ...
  • Ok. Here's how it all went as far as I know.
    Machine stolen.
    Machine bought by unknowing buyer.
    Buyer realizes machine is stolen, holds it for ransom.
    Buyer sends machine to random news reporter.

    Please tell me I'm not the only one who is thinking "Wtf." This chain of events just doesn't make any sense at all. The most obvious solution is simply eliminating step 2, making the person who stole it the person who was demanding ransom. Saying you bought it unknowingly just feels like a half assed excuse to look innocent.
    And on top of that, lets think about the type of person who would buy this sort of machine. Probably a normal computer nerd who wants a piece of history. This type of person doesn't seem like they would hold it hostage! I know if I bought a stolen computer unknowingly I'd return it myself to the proper owner and bite the bullet.
    None of it makes sense. Come on you .eu detectives! Do some detecting!
  • According to the BBC article, the stolen enigma had a serial number of 312. The pictures on E-bay [schnoebelen.com.ch] seem to indicate a serial number of 772. My guess is that the E-Bay seller is simply trying to take advantage of the publicity around the stolen machine and hoping that the publicity will garner a higher price.

    If so, the return of the stolen unit will probably resolve any possible buyer fears that they're bidding for a 'hot' machine. This might be good news (price-wise) for the seller of the swiss machine on E-bay.
    `ø,,ø`ø,,ø!

  • until we nail the fucker who stole it?
    --
    Peace,
    Lord Omlette
    ICQ# 77863057
  • "However it is curious that it was returned so easily "

    According to the UK papers, a large-ish price was paid for it. The person who had it apparantly bought it not knowing it was stolen, and wanted to return it, but didnt want to lose all the money he`d paid for it.

    There are a few dials missing - presumably they`ll get those back when he gets all the money.
  • There were loads of enigmas made - the one that was stolen was one of a rare pair though.
  • I'm sure the rotors were exchangeable, and that a 4 rotor model was supplied with more than 4 rotors.

    I saw a documentary on television last year featuring a 3-rotor model. It was supplied with at least 5 different rotors, each numbered with a sequential roman numeral. The rotors used, and the order that they were used in, was changed regualarly, as was the intial setting of the rotors.

  • Jeremy Paxman (who is one of the UK's most well-known TV news anchors) was just speaking in an interviewee capacity on the BBC's 6 o'clock news.

    He described and they showed the cardboard box stuffed with bubble-wrap that was posted to him. The machine is marked with the missing enigma's code number, but an expert is speeding to the BBC to verify it's identity apparently!

    I was surprised him opening the unexpected package himself, seeing as he is so high-profile, and not always liked!

  • Look on eBay! (Score:3)

    by jms ( 11418 ) on Tuesday October 17, 2000 @07:38AM (#699076)
    The stolen Enigma is a rare four-rotor version, one of only three still known to be in existence.

    Of course, they could have just bought this one off of eBay. [ebay.com]

  • Isn't it odd... (Score:3)

    by EricWright ( 16803 ) on Tuesday October 17, 2000 @08:17AM (#699077) Journal
    First we get a story Coincidence? I think not...8*P [slashdot.org]

    This is a joke. This is only a joke.

    Eric

  • great! (Score:3)

    by nomadic ( 141991 ) <nomadicworld@ g m a i l . com> on Tuesday October 17, 2000 @07:40AM (#699078) Homepage
    Glad to know the Allies have it back safely; now let's win that war, boys!
    --

  • too bad (Score:3)

    by gtx ( 204552 ) on Tuesday October 17, 2000 @07:46AM (#699079) Homepage
    too bad the guy who stole it wasn't dumb enough to try to fence it on ebay. that woulda been funny as shit!

    For Sale:
    German Enigma Machine (RARE)

    Almost EXACTLY like the one stolen recently!
    All original parts, guaranteed against DOA. LOW RESERVE!!!!!!

    Take this chance to own a piece of history! SERIOUS BIDS ONLY, NO DEALERS PLEASE!


  • I feel much better at night (Score:3)

    by ackthpt ( 218170 ) on Tuesday October 17, 2000 @07:34AM (#699080) Homepage Journal
    Knowing this thing will be back in the loving care of a museum which was lax enough to let it get swiped in the first place. I mean, cripes, the back door was unlocked and I went in with this huge trenchcoat and wasn't even scanned or nothing, you'd think someone would have uh.. ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H

    I deny everything!


    --
    Chief Frog Inspector

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