Yardley.

This is coolbert:

I refreshed my memory regarding those cipher systems employed by the Axis spies in South America. The ciphers that Herbert O. Yardley was able to read in the latter part of 1940.

These ciphers, three of them demonstrated by illustration in the book, "Hitler's Secret War In South America", WERE low-grade ciphers NOT of great complexity.

[Two of the ciphers systems were transpositions. NOT hard in these two instances for skilled cryptanalysts to read. The Germans had added simple refinements that would make the enemy cryptanalysts job more difficult, but not that more difficult. The Germans did create ciphers that were simple for low level agents to use. Maybe that is all they had in mind, ease of use, without a whole lot of regard to security? The third cipher was a simple substitution cipher CREATED BY THE USER [the German secret agent]. Why German intelligence would have allowed such a cipher to be used is beyond me? Again, ease of use must have been the main consideration, not security. Even this simple substitution cipher would not have posed a big problem for even the most NOVICE of cryptanalysts.]

Yardley and his team of analysts probably had no problem in reading these messages from Axis spies to headquarters in Berlin. The messages concerned shipping in and out of Brazilian ports. Shipping that in 1940 was vital to the Allied war effort. Shipping at the mercy of German U-Boats.

Reading these messages could lead to capture of the spies. Denying the German Navy vital intelligence at a time when it was vital to them also.

In the notes section at the end of the book this reference is made to the ciphers:

"The code [actually a cipher as opposed to a code] is described in U.S. embassy (Rio) to State Dept., April 20, 1943, NA, RG, 59 862.20210/2338."

Again, same as above, but dated "March 3, March 16, 1943."

This would suggest to me that these German cryptographic systems were NOT being read by U.S. authorities until 1943!!?? I sure would hope not. If Yardley was reading these ciphers in late 1940, and the U.S. did NOT read them until 1943, what does that say??

coolbert.