AI can break Enigma in less than 12 minutes.

Cool. But the kicker is any new code would be created by AI and more difficult to crack than enigma. Or it would use some totally different type of encryption that would make it much more difficult. Essentially, enigma is just a letter replacement cypher and by comparing the letter sequences to all the know words in the world common sense solutions to the cypher become apparent. In the world of AI and super fast computers, that really isn't that difficult.

My kid is currently working on the cybersecurity merit badge. As part of that badge, you have to do one of the following.

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(1) Create your own encryption code, such as a substitution cipher or code book, and demonstrate using it to encrypt and decrypt a message. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of your code.
(2) Download and set up an app (from an official app store) that uses end-to-end encryption. Explain to your counselor what this means, how it works, and why it is more secure than other forms of communication (e.g. SMS).
(3) Use a hashing tool (for example, using SHA or MD5) to create a checksum for a file, document, or piece of text. Have a fellow Scout or your counselor make a change to it, then recreate the checksum and compare the new checksum to the original as a demonstration of file integrity checking.
(4) Create your own PGP (pretty good privacy) email key. Share your public key with others (and your counselor). Also, get their public keys and add them to your computer's key ring. Send a message that has been digitally encrypted.

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During this he had the idea for a cypher and used ChatGTP to refine it.

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1. Convert letters to numbers: A=1, B=2, C=3, … Z=26.
2. Apply the word position rule: Odd words (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc.): Add 13 plus the letter’s position in the word.
Even words (2nd, 4th, 6th, etc.): Subtract 13 plus the letter’s position in the word.
3. Wrap around between 1 and 26 if the result goes below 1 or above 26.
If >26 ? subtract 26
If <1 ? add 26
4. Convert the resulting numbers back to letters using A=1 ? Z=26.

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He then had Chatgtp use it to encode the Scout law, “A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, Reverent” into

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O ENYDB WH FCEBBDUWXKA ZDORD TPVYNBR TGYVFWFT OZEABLUZW YXDU AMOMQLTY QWUVJYOG FSBRNAE PGQMW OWOJV FTLVJXHO

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He took the output and dropped it into Gemini and it Gemini couldn't solve it right off the bat. It took Gemini 5 or 6 tries with the kid prompting it along the way before it got it right.

We found out later that the very simple type of encryption he came up with is called a zipper cypher and has been used in the past.