ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Cryptanalysis of the Enigma

Cryptanalysis is like a puzzle where you have to figure out a secret message by finding clues and solving riddles. The Enigma was a special machine that the Germans used during World War II to send secret messages.

Imagine you have a secret code that you made with a special machine. This machine has a bunch of gears and knobs that you have to adjust every time you want to send a message. The Enigma was just like this, except it was much more complicated because it had so many gears and knobs.

During the war, the British wanted to figure out what messages the Germans were sending with the Enigma machine. They knew that if they could do this, they would have an advantage in the war. So they got a group of smart people together to try and solve the puzzle.

One of these people was a man named Alan Turing. He was really good at solving puzzles and he came up with a way to crack the Enigma code. He built a machine called the Bombe that was able to figure out the Enigma settings that the Germans were using.

Turing and his team worked really hard to figure out the Enigma code, and they were eventually able to do it. They used this knowledge to help the Allies win the war.

Today, we still use cryptanalysis to try and break secret codes. It's a really important skill to have, especially if you want to keep secrets safe!