The Navajo Code Talkers Of World War Iii: The Story Of This Encryption Method

TheNavajoCodeT alkersOfW orldW arII:TheStoryofThisEncryptionMethodKadinMcElwainDr .Chen,CybersecurityKentStateUniversity1 1/1/23TheNavajoCodeT alkersOfW orldW arII:TheStoryofThisEncryptionMethodTherearealotofknownencryptionmethodsthathavebeenusedthroughouthistory ,particularlyintechnology .TheseincludetheCaesarShiftCipherthattheRomansused,theSimpleScytaleCipherusedbyTheSpartans,theEnigmaCodethatTheGermansmade,andSteganographyusedbytheancientGreeks,whichinvolvedhidingmessagesusingcamouflage(McFadden,2023).Onebyone,theseencryptionalgorithmshavehadtheircodescracked.ButthereisoneencryptionmethodthatwasusednotonlytosavetheAmericansduringW orldW arII,butalsoinvolvedanelementmoreimportantthanfacts,logic,computercode,andrules.Itinvolvedtheuseofhumanbeings.ImtalkingaboutthefamousNavajoCodeT alkersoftheAmericanArmy .TheNavajoNationareoneofAmerica's"Mostcelebratedtribes"(NativeHope,2022).SomeofthefirstsettlementsoftheNavajowereinSouthwesternplaces,suchasArizona,T exas,and,mostnotably ,NewMexico(NativeHope,2022).WhentheEuropeansarrivedandcontinuedtotakelandfromtheNativesliketheyalwayshave,theNavajowelcomedthemwithopenarmsandevenadoptedsomeoftheirmethodsoftechnology(NativeHope,2022).However ,inthe1840s,conflictswiththeAmericanSettlersbegan(NativeHope,2022).Then,in1864,theUSgovernmentforcedtheNavajotocommitTheLongW alk,whichwasawalkfromtheirhomeinArizonaallthewaytoasettlementinNewMexico(NativeHope,2022).ButwhatmakestheNavajoCodeT alkersthebestlesser -knownencryption,meaningaspecialcodetoprotectrelevantandimportantinformation,methodever?W ell,thiswasusedduringadarktimeinAmericanhistory .W ehadjustbeenbombedbytheJapaneseinPearlHarborandweneededawaytoensurethatthisneverhappenedagainandacodetoprotectinformationandcommunicatewiththetroopsproperly .So,accordingtoIntelligence.Gov ,theUSarmydecidedtohire29NavajoMen,whowouldlaterbecometheNavajoCodeT alkers(Intelligence.Gov ,2016).ThesemencameupwithaspecialcodethatusedtheirNativelanguagetodefinemilitaryterms.Thesetermsincludedthefollowing,asdefinedintheNavajoDictionary(USNavy ,1945):W oo-la-cheemeaningAnt.Da-Hii-T i-Himeaninghummingbird,whichwasusedtodescribemilitaryjets.Klizziemeaninggoat.LinmeaninghorseA-Chimeaningintestine.Tkinmeaningice.T sahmeaningneedle.A-Khameaningoil.Dibehmeaningsheep.Kleshmeaningsnake.D-Ahmeaningtea.NakiameaningMexican.Zhin-NimeaningBlackies,whichwasusedfortheword,Africa.(Although,it sveryof fensivenow ,especiallygivencurrentevents.)Ah-Le-GaimeaningWhiteClothes,whichwasusedtodescribethecountryofIndia.Deba-De-NihmeaningSheepPain,whichwasusedtodescribeSpain.GinimeaningChickenHawk,whichwasusedtodescribedivebombers.AtsahmeaningEagle,whichwasusedtodescribetransport.Lot-SomeaningWhale,usedtodescribebattleships.T se-EmeaningMosquito,usedtodescribemosquitoboats,whichweresmallboatsusedinbattleUnfortunately ,itwasn tallsunshineandrainbowsforthisgroup.In1942,duringtheearlydaysofAmerica sinvolvementinW orldW arII,oneoftheNavajosoldiers,aser geantbythenameofJoeKieyoomia,waskidnappedbytheJapaneseandwouldn tbereleasedfor43months(Stilwell,2021).TheJapanesewantedtoknowwhatthecodewasandhowtocrackit,hencewhytheykidnappedKieyoomiatobeginwith(Stilwell,2021).Butunfortunatelyforthem,Kieyoomiawasjustasoldierinthewarandnotacodetalker(Stilwell,2021).Duringthese43months,Kieyoomiaenduredtorture,beatings,alongthree-milewalkwithnobreaks,afewhoursofstandinginthewintercoldnakedinanef forttocrackthecodebytheJapanese,andwasevenforcedtodighisowngrave(Stilwell,2021).Sadly ,Kieyoomiatriedtokillhimselfaswellbydoingahungerstrike,justsothetorturecouldstop(Stilwell,2021).ItwasonlywhenthefamousbombwasdroppedonNagasakiin1945thatKieyoomiawasabletoescape(Stilwell,2021).However ,thereisanothercodethatcanbecomparedtotheNavajocodetalkerthatwasusedaroundthesametimeasthisencryptionmethod:TheEnigmaCode.ThiscodewasusedbytheGermansduringW orldW arIIinordertodevelopcodestosendsecretmessagestothetroops,with150,000,000,000,000,000,000possibilities(CIA,n.d.).SimilartotheNavajoCode,allofthesepossibilitiesmadethecodeimpossibletobreakforawhile.However ,accordingtotheScottishMuseum,theseweresomeofthenotabledif ferencesinthiscode(NationalMuseumofScotland,2016):ThiscodewasmadethroughamachineinventedbyaGermanengineerbythenameofArthurScherbiusin1918.Thismachinewasnevermeanttobeusedforwar .Instead,Scherbiuswantedthistobeusedforcommercialpurposes.Ittookseveralredesignstomakeiteligibleformilitaryuse.Thecodewaseventuallycrackedin1945bytheBritish.ThepersonwhocrackedthiscodeandismostnotableinhelpingtocrackitwasamathematiciannamedAlanT uring(ImperialW arMuseum,n.d.).T uringwasaBritishintellectual,whostudiedattwoofthemostprestigiousuniversities,CambridgeandPrincetonandtookajobataparkin1939,rightbeforethewarbrokeout(ImperialW arMuseum,n.d.).ThewayhecrackedtheEnigmaCodewasthroughtheinventionofamachinecalledtheBombe,whichwasamachinethatcouldreducetheworkofcodebreakersandwasoneofmanystrategiesusedbyT uringtocrackthiscode(ImperialW arMuseum,n.d.).OthermethodsusedbyT uringincludedtheuseofadevicecalledDelilahandacodingtechniquecalledT uringery(ImperialW arMuseum,n.d.).Asaresultofhisef forts,hewasawardedwithaknighthoodandthisinspiredT uringtodevelopanewmuseumcalledTheUniversalT uringMachine(ImperialW arMuseum,n.d.).ThisshowsthattheEnigmaCodewaseventuallyabletobeeasilycrackedandthatevenamachinecouldn tfigureouttheNavajoCode.Oneofthemostnotableencryptionmethodswasn tacomputer ,butagroupofhumanscalledTheNavajoCodeT alkers.UsedduringW orldW arII,thishelpedtheUSArmytowinthewarandhelpedcementthelegacyoftheCodeT alkers.AsitcomparestotheEnigmaCode,itcannotbeeasilycrackedwithamachineoranyfancycomputers.Butnonetheless,thisisstillanimportantencryptionmethodintechnologyandtheworld.Itwillberememberedforeverasalegendinthetechworld.Sour cesCitedCIA.(n.d.).EnigmaMachine.CentralIntelligenceAgency .https://www .cia.gov/legacy/museum/artifact/enigma-machine/ImperialW arMuseum.(n.d.).HowAlanT uringcrackedtheEnigmacode.ImperialW arMuseums.https://www .iwm.org.uk/history/how-alan-turing-cracked-the-enigma-codeIntelligenceGov .Net.(2016).1942:Navajocodetalkers.INTEL.https://www .intelligence.gov/people/barrier -breakers-in-history/453-navajo-code-talkers#:~:text=Marine%20Corps%20leadership%20selected%2029,key%20phrases%20and%20military%20tactics.McFadden,C.(2023,June22).1 1cryptographicmethodsthatmarkedhistory-fr omthecaesarciphertoEnigmacodeandbeyondPDF.Scribd.https://www .scribd.com/document/473384909/1 1-Cryptographic-Methods-That-Marked-History-From-the-Caesar -Cipher-to-Enigma-Code-and-Beyond-pdfNationalMuseumOfScotland.(2016).Enigmaencodingmachine.NationalMuseumsScotland.https://www .nms.ac.uk/explore-our -collections/stories/science-and-technology/enigma-encoding-machine/NativeHope.(2022,September28).Thepast,pr esent,andfutur eoftheNavajoNation.NativeHopeBlog.https://blog.nativehope.or g/past-present-future-of-the-navajo-nationStilwell,B.(2021,March29).Thishar d-luckWWIIsoldiersurvivedtheBataanDeathMar ch,tortur eandtheAtomicBomb.W eAreTheMighty .https://www .wearethemighty .com/mighty-history/joe-kieyoomia-survived-the-bataan-death-march/USNavy .(1945).Navajocodetalkerdictionary.NavalHistoryandHeritageCommand.https://www .history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/navajo-code-talker -dictionary.html