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German code: Enigma Mystery Cache

Hidden : 4/17/2020
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


Post WW1 Germany was a busy place. Hitler's rise to power as well as growing European tensions called for an unbreakable code. Companies in Germany were using a system of coding called Enigma. This proved to be very good code, and soon it was adopted for War. How it worked was with an Enigma machine. You would type the plain text into the machine and It would light up a different letter. you would write the alternate letter down you would continue to do this until you had gone through your entire message. These messages would be sent by telegraph. Even if you had this machine you couldn't translate it unless you knew the configuration. The configuration would be uniform throughout the German lines. This configuration would be changed daily. Some things that were changeable were the plugboard, the disks, the starting spot of the disks, and the mirror. I recommend watching this video to really get a feel for how this machine works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASfAPOiq_eQ

Now switching gears to the allied side. The desperately tried to decode this so-called "unbreakable code". What happened in England was the formation of Bletchley Park. This was an ultra-secure location in which their sole purpose was to crack the Enigma code. It was led by Alan Turning. There were a few weaknesses in this code, first, it was unable to code a letter with itself. Every day there would be many weather broadcasts that were coded, these would always be in the same format. So by guessing what they said gave them clues every day. They eventually settled on the bombe machine, it was capable of cycling through thousands of Enigma settings each minute. Since Bletchley Park had several bombe machines it only took them a few hours to find the right setting. Each day they would get to work to find the setting, once they found it they would use the Enigma machine to quickly decode every message. Germany had no idea that their code had been broken. Historians suggest that this has changed the outcome of many battles, and even could be the purpose of the Allied victory. This next video explains in detail The cracking of the Enigma code:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb44bGY2KdU 

To find the final coordinates you will be using a website that is a simulation of what an Enigma machine would do. The final is a very simple magnetic nano placed on a very appropriate street. The Enigma simulator website can be found at:

https://cryptii.com/pipes/enigma-machine

Here is today's setting for the Enigma machine:

Enigma machine: Enigma I

Reflector: UKW  A

Rotor 1: V           Position O         Ring Q

Rotor 2: I            Position R         Ring B

Rotor 3: II           Position L          Ring K

Plugboard: QW ER TY UI OP AF HB SJ KN

The cache can be found at:

eyysg uicb bimrv ufohfbp cycc nfuku feoem xyw snew tncd rocn ratc rjw rvvbhau wjwp yices vmj gmr ekexs

I hope you have luck, and fun while solving this cache. If anything doesn't work send me an e-mail and I will try to solve it. 

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Bapr lbh trg vg evtug lbh'yy xabj vg jvyy fcryy gur pbbeqvangrf bhg sbe lbh. Nf sbe gur svany vg vf zntargvp arne gur fvqr jnyx.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)