Math 331 Project | The Enigma Machine

Dues Date: Sunday, November 15th (4:00 P.M.)

Research and write a report on the history of the Enigma Machine and the role cracking it played in the Second World War. The report should be typed, single- spaced in size 14 font. I find that attaching word limits to essays is the perfect way to ensure bad writing. As a different sort of guideline, a ten page report is on the shorter side and a twenty page report is on the longer side.

Your report should include the following:

1. A description of the Enigma Machine and its origins.

2. Ways in which the Enigma Machine was varied to make it more challenging to break.

3. A description of Bletchley Park, the people who worked there and some of the important work carried out by them.

4. The historical significance of breaking Enigma and its impact on the outcome of the war.

5. As clear a description as you can give of one to three different techniques that were used to break Enigma.

6. A description of the Lorenz cipher.

I am open to you being somewhat creative with this project. Here are a few bells

and whistles you could potentially add to jazz up your project. Feel free to

incorporate any of the following into your project or perhaps you have a great idea of your own.

-    Try to construct a very clear example to illustrate one of the techniques used to crack Enigma. Perhaps some of the techniques are easy to illustrate if you assume Enigma has only one Rotor and no initial permutation, for example.

-    Write a computer program that simulates the Enigma encryption and decryption.

-    Write a computer program that illustrates one of the techniques that was used to break Enigma. Feel free to use a modified Enigma Machine if this is easier.

Your paper should be well written and include references to any sources that you use, including books, papers and websites.