Existing comment:
How did ENIGMA Work?
Despite its complex system of wires, plugs, and ciphering wheels, the ENIGMA machine was fairly simple to use. The operator just typed the letters of a message,the machine's internal mechanisms did the rest. Pressing a key sent an electrical current through the plugboard wiring and activated the wheels. The wheels rotated to produce an encrypted letter, which lit up above the keyboard. The code changed according to the wheel and plug positions. Each configuration produced a different scrambled letter. To read or write a coded message, the operator wrote down all of the letters as they lit up. Operators were given monthly charts to indicate the daily settings, because a message enciphered by an ENGIMA machine could be deciphered only by another ENIGMA machine with the same settings. |