Re: M4 project

On Tue, 2006-03-07 at 15:28 +0000, Tony Sale wrote:
> In message
<BD2365915FAF74468CFCB599729BD64A919D86-1tyLoVlAkPgf1e9Zp+ivQ3IPMjoJpjVV@public.gmane.org>,
> Frode Weierud <[email protected]> writes
> >Dear Tony and Faithful Readers of the BP Mailing List,
> >
> >I can assure you that Hillclimbing Steckers work beautifully. Geoff
> >Sullivan and I have been hillclimbing the Enigma since 2003 and we
have
> >broken more than 780 Enigma messages this way.
> >

I'm contributing to the M4 project, but am a bit surprised at the
tactics. I don't have a problem with the *concept* as such, but with the
bit that says "lock the middle wheel ring at 'A'".

Now obviously, the left wheel ring is irrelevant for breaking as there's
no slower wheel to use its notch. The fast wheel ring is dealt-with as
it must be - wrong ring there is fatal.

But with the (failed) break attempt last week, surely after doing a
complete walk of M4 and getting no break-in, they should next then do a
complete walk of M4 with middle ring at 'N' to try and eliminate cases
where the middle wheel kicked the slow wheel at a critical point and
ruined the Sinkov statistics?

And why do M3 at all? With the M4 fourth wheel at 'A' it emulates an M3
anyway! That was the secret of the short weather cipher crib after all.

-- 
Steve Hosgood <steve-0L79qhCdni9Wk0Htik3J/[email protected]>