Crypto Museum

The Crypto Museum ( German  " Kryptographie - Museum " ) is a virtual museum based in the Netherlands that is dedicated to the history of cryptography , the science that deals with the encryption of messages . One focus is on rotor cipher machines , especially from the Second World War and the Cold War .

history

Enigma I at the stand of the Crypto Museum at the HAM RADIO 2016. To the right of it, a Soviet Fialka can just be made out.

It was launched in 2004 by Paul Reuvers and Marc Simons, two engineers from Eindhoven . They are also known for the development of the Enigma-E , a modern electronic replica of the German Enigma key machine .

In fact, the museum doesn't just exist virtually , it also has a large number of real exhibits . Although the museum rooms are not open to the public, exhibitions are organized from time to time, also in cooperation with other museums, at which the pieces are presented to the public. So there is a regular appearance of since 2007 Crypto Museum on the Ham Radio  (image) , a year in Friedrichshafen held Mass for amateur radio , often under which Reuvers and Simons lectures on selected topics of cryptology hold.

The exhibits in the virtual exhibition of the Crypto Museum can be seen permanently and free of charge (see also website under web links ).

Marc Simons and Paul Reuvers played an important role in clearing up Operation Rubikon around the Swiss crypto device manufacturer Crypto AG . In 2015 you analyzed the papers of the US cryptologist William Friedman and disclosed the connections to Boris Hagelin .

Exhibits

In addition to what is probably the most famous key machine in history, the German Enigma, the museum also presents a large number of very interesting other encryption machines. These include the “purely” mechanical machines from Boris Hagelin , such as the B-21 , B-211 and CD-57 , as well as the M-209 , which with 140,000 pieces is certainly one of the most popular key machines in history. It also shows a number of electromechanical machines such as the Soviet Fialka , the Swiss Nema , the Italian OMI , the American Sigaba , the British TypeX , the German radio teletype T52 “secret writer” and the Lorenz key addition SZ 42 , to name but a few particularly prominent exhibits to call.

In addition to the large number of photos, illustrations and sketches, detailed explanations of the history, function, use and - if given - also cryptanalysis and breakage of the machines are presented.

literature

• Paul Reuvers and Marc Simons: Enigma G-111 . Crypto Museum, Eindhoven 2009. PDF; 9.8 MB. Retrieved November 22, 2018.

Web links

• Website (English)
• Photo of Marc Simons (left) and Paul Reuvers at the presentation of an Enigma I at Radboud University Nijmegen in 2012.
• Interview with Paul Reuvers at the presentation of a Fialka (machine) on November 8th, 2008. Author Dominik Landwehr

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mission Statement, accessed on November 22, 2018.
2. ↑ About us (English) accessed on November 22, 2018.
3. ↑ About Crypto Museum (English) accessed on November 22, 2018.
4. ↑ Events (English) accessed on November 22, 2018.
5. ↑ The HAM RADIO accessed on November 22, 2018.
6. ↑ Ham Radio 2016 (English) accessed on November 22, 2018.
7. ^ BBC Radio 4 - Document, The Crypto Agreement. Retrieved February 26, 2020 (UK English). 
8. ↑ Crypto and Cipher Machines (English) accessed on November 22, 2018.