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Here is a list of past presentations at ICCH. The most recent presentation is at the top. Click on each listing to reveal more information below, including the speaker, presentation description and to access recordings.
Note: Effort has been made to ensure that the information on each presentation is accurate and up-to-date. To suggest a correction please contact the ICCH webmaster Patrick Hayes at .
Exploring the surprising discoveries of a systematic search for the world's oldest surviving cipher devices. While the search for such ancient artefacts may at first appear to be an audacious and foolhardy effort, the result turned out to be completely unexpected and fascinating. Military and government leaders place the utmost importance in keeping their messages secret; including the code-making schemes, code-breaking successes, and the artefacts themselves. Usually, these details of cryptology are forever lost to history. As a result of this secrecy, it is perhaps not surprising that a systematic and rigorous search for the world's oldest surviving cipher devices has not been previously conducted. The world's oldest cipher device will now be revealed, which is a century and a half older than any previously identified cipher device. This device has been hidden on the shelves of several museums, mislabelled as an astronomic device for centuries, until it was finally and correctly identified as a cipher device in 2014!
January 9, 2021
Here is a list of past presentations at ICCH. The most recent presentation is at the top. Click on each listing to reveal more information below, including the speaker, as well as the presentation date and description. Presentation recordings are available separately, in the ICCH Portal.
To view upcoming ICCH presentations, click here.
Note: Effort has been made to ensure that the information on each presentation is accurate and up-to-date. To suggest a correction please contact the ICCH webmaster Patrick Hayes at info@cryptologichistory.org.
Exploring the surprising discoveries of a systematic search for the world's oldest surviving cipher devices. While the search for such ancient artefacts may at first appear to be an audacious and foolhardy effort, the result turned out to be completely unexpected and fascinating. Military and government leaders place the utmost importance in keeping their messages secret; including the code-making schemes, code-breaking successes, and the artefacts themselves. Usually, these details of cryptology are forever lost to history. As a result of this secrecy, it is perhaps not surprising that a systematic and rigorous search for the world's oldest surviving cipher devices has not been previously conducted. The world's oldest cipher device will now be revealed, which is a century and a half older than any previously identified cipher device. This device has been hidden on the shelves of several museums, mislabelled as an astronomic device for centuries, until it was finally and correctly identified as a cipher device in 2014!
January 9, 2021
