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OFFICE 01' THE SECRETARY OF DEFERS 

Report to tho Gavermnet Patents Board 

under Executive Ord.r 10096 -- ~ ~ ---- ~ --~ - ~ ~ --- ~ ~ 

Date I..,.cb 15 .&.ugast 1950 

Authenticating Device 

Itea 2 • IRnlltor(a) 111114plmMrt;_ st;a;tps1 

lfilli•• F. 1riedllall1 GOTerDllent Baployee (.Araed Forees Security igenc7) 

Itea 3 - Ia'terest ot GoYermnenta Irrnocable License 

Croes References I Report Type c 

8er.lal Bumberl 

ftlJ.Dg Dates 

@'pproved for Release by NSA on 05-20-2014 pursuantto E.O. 1352a 
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Patented Aug. t 5, t 950 2 5· 1· 8. 4· 58 

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UNITED 

1 

STATES PATENT 

2,518,458 

AUTHENTICATING DEVICE 

William F. Friedman, Washington, D. C. 

Application August 25, 1944, Serial No. 551,172 

1 Claim. (Cl. 35-4) 

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) 

OFFICE 

2 

The invention described herein may be manu- to be handled by the authenticator. In Figure 2, 

factured and used by or for the Government for rotors 11 and 12 and ltl-80 bear ordinary Arabic 

governmental purposes, without the payment of numerals arranged in normal order from O to 9. 

any royalty thereon. . Rotor 13 carries symbols representing the money 

This invention is an authenticating device and, 6 of various countries. The rotors are, in additon, 

particularly, is a device by means of which the identified by nwnber, as 81, or otherwise, so that 

bona tides of certain types of messages can be they can be readily arranged in any desired order. 

readily proved. At the left end of the device of Figure 2 is a 

It is customary in certain fields of commerce, rotary switch 90 adapted for manual operation, 

as for instance banking, to transmit cable and 10 and this switch is in circuit with a battery 91 or 

radio communications in code or cipher, rather other source of current. There are six make conthan in clear text. This is economical, and serves tacts 92-9'1 on switch 90, and, if desired, a neutral 

in some measure to protect the interests of cus- or non-make position 98. The six make contacts 

tomers and of the commercial institutions them- are adapted for variable connection to the ten 

selves. According to the following description, · 14 c·ontacts 41-50, inclusive, by means of plugs and 

this invention is to be used by banking and other jacks, as 99', 99". 

financial institutions, but it will be obvious that At the other end of the rotor system, .ten output 

it is applicable as well to other types of businesses, leads may be seen, and, associated with each, an 

and has military applications as well. electric lamp, as 101-1 IO, inclusive, these lamps 

In the drawings: 20 being likewise in the circuit of battery 9 I. AdjaFigure 1 is a digaram of one of the mixing or cent the lamps is a strip 11 I, hearing ten numerals 

"scrambling" elements used in the invention. randomly arranged. This strip is slidably mountFigure 2 is a diagrammatic representation of ed in a holder 112, so that it may be removed 

the authenticating device of this invention. therefrom and replaced by another strip. · 

The invention comprises a group of ten mixing 25 In the preferred embodiment of the invention, 

elements in the nature of cryptographic rotors. means are provided for stepping one or more of 

One such rotor is shown in Figw·e 1, where it may the rotors l 1-80 each time a signal is fed through 

be seen to consist of a body member IO, formed of the system. In Figure 2, such means are repreBakelite or some other insulating material, and sented by block 120. After positioning rotary 

a group of ten contacts 11-20, inclusive. A sec- 30 switch 90, switch i 21, which may be in the naond group of contacts, 21-30, appears on the op- ture of a simple pushbutton, is closed. When 

posite face of the body member. it is reopened, rotor l I is advanced one step. The 

The contacts 11-20 will normally serve as input other rotors are stepped under the control of 

contacts and the other set will normally serve as rotor l 1 in any of several well-known manners. 

output contacts. Connections between the sev- 35 Assuming switch 121 to be closed, it will be aperal input contacts and the output contacts are parent that an electrical current from battery 91 

made at random or according to some predeter- will traverse a path through the rotor system demined complicated rule. The result is, of course, pending, in the first instance, on the input conthat an input signal representing one condition is tact utilized, and, secondly, upon the internal 

converted to an output signal representing some- 40 wiring of the several rotors, the order in which 

thing entirely different. the rotors are arranged on shaft 35, and the relaReferring to Figure 2, the invention may be tive rotatory positions of the rotors. Under one 

seen to include a shaft 35, supported at its two set of conditions, for example, a signal introduced 

ends in members 38 and 39. The members 38, 39 at the contact 2 on the leftmost rotor of Figure 2 

may be of any form desired. Their only func- 45 may find its way through the rotor maze to cnertions are to support the shaft 35, and to carry gize lamp 11 D. A change in any one of the constationary electrical contacts, 41-50, on the one ditions mentioned just above, may cause the sighand, and 51-60, on the other. nal to illuminate lamp IOI. The number on the 

Mounted on the shaft 35 are ten cryptographic strip 111, adjacent the energized lamp, will derotors l 1-80, such as that illustrated in Figure 1, 60 pend upon the arrangement of the numerals on 

and earlier described. The rotors are all essen- the strip. 

tially similar, but their internal wiring normally One method of using the invention, by a bank 

will be different. The rotors bear on their periph- or other financial organization, will now be deeries indicia of one type or another, the type de- scribed. A United states bank, wiShing to make 

pending, to some extent at least, on the material li5 a deposit in a London bank! would compose the 
REF ID:AlOl.., 

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basic text of its cablegram according to the stand- can be set up, whereas uiing the ten lamps, 10 lard private code in use. It would then take the 110, inclusive, in combinations of three, only 720 

device of this invention and, in conformity with different test groups can be obtained. A greater 

a prearranged plan, insert a particular stlip 111 number of groups can, of course, be achieved if it 

in the holder 112 and arrange the rotors in 5 is desired to use longer test groups, but in ordiproper order. The contacts 92-91, ;inclusive, nary business usage the three-numeral group has 

would next be plugged into predetermined input .beeniound to.be.satisfactory. 

connections in member 38. The rotors would ·Further, it will be obvious that either more or then be individually adjusted so that, for example fewer rotors may be used, without altering the 

<reading the second row of indicia on the rotors),, ;10 principles of the invention. The number decided 

the first two would indicate the serial number of upon will depend upon many factors. 

the message <35, in Figure 2) • rotar -73 'Would 1in- The :above description is in specific terms. It 

dicate United States dollars, and rotors J4-BO.. should be understood, however, that the inventhe amount of the deposit C$9,756,125, in the "illus- tion is not limited to the exact structure shown 

tration). '18 and described, :and, therefore, for the true scope 

The operator would then move switch arm 90.to of the .invention, reference should be had to the 

contact 92, for example, and under these circum- appended claim. · 

stances it may be assumed tthat'_the lamp ·I 02, ad- .I claim: 

jacent numeral 1 on strip 11 'I, -.will be lighted. In a device .of ·.the nature described, a source 

Arm 90 would then be;moved tO contact 93, and 20 of current, a series of crytographic motors having 

_;lamp .1.0 I adjacent:numeral-5 •would be ,energized. .a _plurality ,of inputs and a ·plurality of outputs, 

1U:pon movement of arm -90 -to contact 94, :·lamp 'a.selector:adapted.to make-successive.circuits be-

'I OJ, aqjacent-numeral ~. would be·energized. T·he .tween said source of current .and a :limited num- ,operator •would -take these )three numerals ·in the ber of preselected inputs to said series, an i11dica-

,order.in·whlch they occurred, namely, -l-ii-'~,1and '28 :tor for each of said outputs adapted to be :ener-

.encode .them ·by means .of :this standard code, gized .by said source, and means for .assigning .thereby-obtainh"l~La;group.such as ·ROXIP. 'J\his variable values -to said indicators said means co:m-

_,gr.oup, located Jn -a prearranged ,position in ,the prising a holding member adjacent said ··indicamessage, would .then be .transmitted as an :au- •tors ;and a card or the "like slidably held thereby 

,thenticator. iSO said card bearing 'indicia which may be variously 

The ,bank: .receiving the .cablegram would, aft- _Juxtaposed with the:said.indicators. 

-er decoding, ;set up -its machine just as the ma- WILLIAM :F. FRIEDMAt~ . 

. chine was set .up ,by ·the transmitting . ban.Jc, ar-

,rangingthe rotors .in-accordance with the amount REFERENCES ·CITED 

.of .the .deposit, .the serial .number of .the .message, ::'88 The -following references are of record in .the 

etc. The operator would next -move ;the switch ,file .of ·this patent: 

_.arm .90 of his ,device to the three contacts :92-,93-

_94 in order. Unless.he.derived the.number repre-

.sented jn his -codebook by the group .-ROXIP. •he 

\•;.ould know •that .either .the message ·was :not ,

40 authentic or .that .some error had .been made. 

.Of .course -the -device .will -not f.urnish ,a ,dif.-

.ferent .code ,group for each possible •condition-of 

the rotors and other variable elements. Consid-

.ering ,the .seven rotors I 04-1 fO alone, it ·will be .:45 

.apparent .that ten .million different combinations 

UNITED ·sTATES PATENTS 

Number 

.1,584,660 

1;68~;072 

1,938,028 

1,953,829 

.2,080,416 

2,139,676 

Name Date 

Scherbius ----------May U, 1926 

Hebern. ____________ ·Sept. 4, 1928 

-Korn -------------- Dec. 5, 1933 

.MO:ra'.iS -------------- Apr. 3, 1934 

Friedman ---------- May 18, 1937 

.Friedman ---------- Dec. 13, 1938 

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