Caption: The sede vacante emblem, with the tiara replaced by an umbrella, represents the absence of a pope and the temporary governance of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church over the temporal affairs of the Holy See.
Al Kirk challenged me to comment on Vatican ciphers because this week the Holy See is prominently in the news with the passing of the Pope. (sic transit gloria mundi)
The Vatican may not have developed the first state-sponsored ciphers, but it was very good at it for a long time and continually improved its ciphers over time. In Meister’s 1906 landmark study, “Die Geheimschrift im Dienste der päpstlichen Kurie von ihren Anfängen bis zum Ende des XVI. Jahrhunderts,” the 16th-century papal cryptographic service is described as a vibrant, highly professional organization at the forefront of cryptography in the Late Renaissance. By the 19th Century, the reputation of papal cryptography had diminished in its intense development. The 16th to 18th Centuries were the high water mark in Vatican crypto. Most of the keys from that period have been recovered from the Vatican Library’s archives and published, allowing scholars to read the Church’s correspondence.
The study described in this article is an attempt to answer the following questions: What types of ciphers were used by the papal cipher secretaries and papal envoys in the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries? What were their specific practices and habits? How did the methods and practices evolve? How secure were those ciphers? How safe are they against modern computing and cryptanalysis techniques? Is it possible to develop a set of tools for the automated or semi-automated cryptanalysis of those historical ciphers?
The Secret Archives of the Vatican, also known by its official name, Archivio Segreto Vaticano (ASV), contains a vast collection of preserved papal correspondence, including government and diplomatic correspondence of the Catholic Church, dating from the 8th Century to the 20th Century. The Pope grants free access to most documents up to 1939 to qualified scholars with a university degree who are conducting scientific studies, after obtaining permission from the Prefect of the ASV.
Cipher types for that period include monoalphabetic, homophonic, and polyphonic ciphers. Most of the homophonic ciphers use variable-length homophones. Interestingly, variable-length homophonic ciphers are highly secure even against modern computing and algorithms. Researchers could only recover the keys for such ciphers if a matching plaintext were available or if the key could be found in Meister, based on external information or clues obtained with the help of computerized tools. Those ciphers for which parsing is not deterministic are not only difficult to break, but they were also historically more challenging to use. This supports the hypothesis of a level of sophistication among cipher creators and users, driven by Argentis and their predecessors, who prioritized security over simplicity.
One element that I found missing was the apparent use of one-time pads. That those systems were not included in the Vatican archives does not mean that they were not used; only that they were not found.
Example of deciphered plaintext written on top of ciphertext (Archivio Segreto Vaticano)
Example of cleartext (not enciphered) in the same collection (Archivio Segreto Vaticano)
End
Excellent summary. Thanks LL.
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During WWII a lot of effort was made by the Allies to decode diplomatic ciphers used by the church.
I’m aware, but there is very little UNCLASS out there on the subject from WW2 forward since the Vatican still considers that confidential.
I noticed that “up to 1939” access, not willing to talk about what they did when the world war started.
I sense that they transitioned to one-time pad ciphers when World War II started, which is not necessarily a step forward in cryptography. Still, they would lend themselves well to the level of operational security the Vatican would need. The Vatican didn’t need Enigma. The scope of operations was far more confined than that. The Jedburgh teams used one-time pads extensively.
>>BREAKING NEWS<< Unknown suspects assassinated the deputy head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operational Directorate, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, in Balashikha, Moscow Oblast, on April 25.
Remote detonated car bomb. They waited until he was walking by car then detonated.
https://funker530.com/video/nsfw-russian-general-assassinated-in-moscow
-STA Lethal
It wouldn’t be too hard for the Russians to respond in kind.
Stand by.
Suppose beloved President for Life Volodymyr were to slip getting out of the shower, and crack his skull open on the marble floor [1] — who or what would replace him immediate term? And what would his/their likely strategy be regarding this pan-Slavic meatgrinder? Serious question.
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[1] less serious, but slipping in the bathroom ranks behind coke stroke, assassination, and dying of accidental asphyxiation while being “made airtight” on the list of ways that beloved VZ might end his earthly existence.
Yes, and I’m betting the Jesuits were heavily into the design/use of those ciphers.
They’re called “God’s Marines,” and I think that they traditionally served in tradecraft roles.
There were also renowned for teaching Mathematics and Science.
X2 – and music. Mathematics and music, when understood at a deeper level, lend themselves to cryptography.
Old+NFO. They were also the main drivers and proponents of Liberation Theology, particularly in Central and South America, where they both overtly and covertly supported Communist insurrections. I have not checked lately, so cannot say if they still are involved in such matters. Would not be surprised if they were. I mention my dealings with two of them, in this regard, in my book.
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A (mostly lapsed, but raised-)Catholic girlfriend used to speak admiringly of the Jesuits as “the ones sitting in the back of the lecture hall quietly smiling, because they know more than the professor.” Based largely on her admiration of these (admittedly) clever people, I had a vaguely positive impression of the Jesuits for many years. But, alas, the more I learn about them, the lower my opinion goes [1]. It’s not as if I devote any significant energy to this so I’m hardly an expert, but it’s starting to look like the Society of Jesus is, at least in part, working to their own inscrutable [2] ends rather than for the glory of the Faith. I had to stop reading about Jesuits because it’s leading in directions I really shouldn’t be going (further) down.
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[1] Sadly, not limited to Jesuits. Nearly everything (historical or political) that I’ve been taught in one of the best Publik Skool systems in the US appears to be if not outright fake, then heavily spun.
[2] “inscrutable” selected for sarcasmohumoristic purposes. It’s totally scrutable if the “vicious slanders and libels” about early Jesuit leadership are true. If true, the undermining of traditional mores and societies, and their aggressive support for Communism should have been highly predictable, and is indeed consistent. The jeopardy does not change its spots.
Noted the Iranians had some explosions at its major freight harbor.
My call? I’d be pleasantly surprised if Sarah gets it. If he doesn’t, which he probably won’t, he has a de facto reign anyway.
Churchgoers and majority lib Cardinals are most decoupled.
I cannot explain the growth in the Roman Catholic Church I’ve read of recently.
Do people find corruption attractive?
Satan’s Sirens sing a powerful tune, Ed….
People look for institutional reassurance.
I believe that’s a prime motivator.
Got it in one. I believe there is more interest in Orthodox Christianity as well, and for similar reasons.
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As to, essentially, “despite the corruption” — well, yeah. It says a lot about modern “Western” society (which is barely Western any longer) that even a clearly corrupt Church is more attractive. This is an own goal on the part of our beloved rulers.
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Our rulers are truly the “eternal masters of the overplayed hand”. Their success is not because they are THAT much smarter than us. Sure, their success is based on real brains, hard work, and nepotism (this applies equally to the Overseas Chinese who dominate economies and governments in SE Asia), but it’s also based on paranoia and resentment as well. Probably even more so than the higher IQ. Long-term, this is a trap (on them) because the cultural psychopathology (which might be genetic at this point; not being sarcastic) that drives them to such success REQUIRES them to believe their own propaganda. They literally cannot help themselves and don’t know when to stop.