The features area allows us to take a different, generally non technical look at cryptography being applied in the real world. In fact, the major goal of these features in general is to simply prove that cryptology exists, and has existed, for a long time. Cryptology has influenced history, communications, and perhaps the world.

We hope to add new articles to our features archive every two to four weeks - or whenever an article strikes us. And if you've already read all of our articles, you can look forward to future ones by checking out our 'planned features' located near the bottom of this page.

National Security Agency - The NSA handles nearly all of the U.S. Government's cryptlogy related issues. They create, distribute, recommend, and implement cryptography systems for their 'customers' (ie: the armed services) while at the same time the NSA leads American cryptanalysis efforts. Yet because of the sensitive nature of their work, the inner workings of the NSA are obstructed from public view. So what do we know?

William Frederick Friedman - William Frederick Friedman contributed to the field of cryptology in so many brilliant ways that any specific one would have left him a place inhistory. His practical and academic accomplishments are extrodinary and may never be matched...

Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems Conference - The first annual CHES conference was held on August 11th and 12th at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Team 27993 was allowed to attend teh speeches and lectures free of charge (after a few emails) and is here to report on some of the most interesting developments in the cryptographic hardware field...

Rotor Systems of WWII - Brilliant machines developed in the 1920s and 30s created polyalphabetic substitutions with periods from tens of thousands to millions of letters long with quadrillions of unique daily starting values possible. Yet, despite the large numbers and seeming impossibility of cryptanalyizing a message -- it was done.

UPCOMING STORIES...
Current Debate - The government, the users, and the human rights advocates are all arguing over crypto...why?
Guide to PGP - There have been a lot of comprehensive guides to using PGP, but we present the idiot proof guide created just for us (and any other readers out there)
Changing the World - Ranking the greatest cryptographic/cryptoanalytic events in history based on the effect they caused
Anticryptography? - We keep talking about being secretive...but what if we need to talk so that anyone could understand us. In short, proposed ideas of how to communicate with aliens.
Riding the Revolution - The widespread use of PCs is changing cryptography in the same way the telegraph did -- and we're here to bring you up to date with the Morse Code of the next generatation...PGP, err, RSA...