During the Second World War, the victory was also played on the invisible ground of cryptography. Each message intercepted, each deciphered code could tip the course of operations. At the heart of this shadow war, the Enigma code imposed a titanic challenge on the allies. Designed to produce billions of unique combinations, this machine seemed to make any attempt at vain decryption. And yet, despite its apparent invincibility, the fault existed, ready to be exploited – yesterday by mathematicians, today by artificial intelligences.
British mathematician Alan Turing, supported by Polish cryptanalyst precursor works, knew how to exploit them. The impossibility of code a letter as itself represented one of the most crucial vulnerabilities. This detail allowed the Bletchley Park teams to drastically reduce the field of hypotheses. As Dr. Mustafa explained Mustafa, lecturer at the University of Manchester, it was one of the keys to the success of Turing, combined with the partial automation of the process via so -called “bombs” machines.
Why would the Enigma code collapse today under the pressure of algorithms
At the time, Turing electromechanical bombs were to review billions of possibilities to isolate good configurations. Today, a simple computer program reproducing the logic of these machines could complete this work in the blink of an eye. This is what Michael Wooldridge, IT professor at the University of Oxford, asserts in a Guardian article. He indicates that even an AI model like Chatgpt was able to simulate the operation of the bombs.
The Express Tribune adds that this task, which once required months, or even years of mechanical calculation, would now be sent in a few seconds by a classic data center. Already in 2021, a team of researchers had formed an artificial intelligence on Grimm tales in German, then used 2,000 virtual servers to break an Enigma message in 13 minutes.
The secret of this performance? The raw calculation power, of course, but also the ability of AI to model linguistic structures, to recognize patterns and to test millions of hypotheses in a probabilistic manner. According to Wooldridge, modern statistics and distributed calculation methods make Enigma encryption completely obsolete in the face of contemporary tools.
From Enigma to RSA: computer security in time
If it is fascinating to see how artificial intelligence would have facilitated the work of the allies, this comparison also highlights a paradox. Modern cryptographic systems like RSA, which are based on the difficulty of factoring very large prime numbers, are still resistant to date. Unlike Enigma, these algorithms are resistant to brute force attacks, even with superordinators.
But this security could be called into question with the advent of quantum computer science. Wooldridge warns that if quantum computers one day hold their promises, RSA could in turn become vulnerable. The story therefore seems to be repeated: what seems inviolable today might no longer be tomorrow.
With an unwavering passion for local news, Christopher leads our editorial team with integrity and dedication. With over 20 years’ experience, he is the backbone of Wouldsayso, ensuring that we stay true to our mission to inform.
