Virtual Lorenz: One online version of machineof message encryption used by Hitler is available for anyone who wishes to try it.
The National Museum of Computing (TNMC) presented the Virtual Lorenz engine to celebrate the centenary of Bill Tutte, his Bletchley Park mathematician who broke the Lorenz SZ42 encryption system of the German Command, allowing the Allies to decipher their secrets.
"Tutte's work, often regarded as the greatest intellectual achievement of the war, reduced the conflict by allowing the enemy's strategic messages to be decrypted on a regular basis - and very quickly with the help of Colossus computers," the National Museum of Informatics said.
Tutte and colleague John Tillman compared how Lorenz's 12-rotor worked for a period of three months. They managed to "break" it without having seen the machine, which was considered more complicated than the most famous encryption machine Enigma.
According to a colleague, Tony Sale, the coders called the Lorenz machines and their release "fish," which in Lorenz's case were Tunny or tuna fish. Although they broke the Tunny, it initially took six weeks to decrypt the messages. Colossus helped make decryption faster.
The online cryptographer Lorenz reproduces Lorenz SZ42's high industrial sound, as well as the sound of the machine when messages are exchanged.
Martin Gillow, who created Virtual Lorenz, says the inspiration for the project was a Virtual Colossus. Gillow also created one An update to the ancient computer.
"As a programmer, I was thrilled to rebuild the Colossus computer when I first saw it at the National Museum of Informatics. "Tony Sale, who led the rebuilding team, also created a Virtual Colossus for the internet, but I found it to only run on older browsers," he said.
"So I decided to recreate the Virtual Colossus, and then a Virtual Lorenz to accompany it. It took months of work in my spare time and its unveiling to the public at the museum was a real thrill. "
Virtual Lorenz is not easy to use, but TNMC assures it is easier than the original war.
Gillow provides detailed tutorials explaining how to use the machine to exchange encrypted messages with others, or you can set the machine to work automatically. Just type your text.
