Declassified and Approved for Release by NSA on 10-06-2020 pursuant to E O 13526 MOR 107694 National Security Agency Fort George G Meade Maryland DECEMBER 1973 q OP Rlsf UMHR 1 This is V agon Seed6 There is fantasy irony and the bite of reality in the name It speaks of the East A d like the East it suggests much says little v agon Seed6 is both Mothei China and her neighbors V agon Seed6 is monumental and rr inuscule It is the past and future It begs for elaboration but gives none In it are echoed softly slurred Mandarin brittle Vietnamese determined Korean In •it is the spectre looming over the Thai Lao and Khmer It is frightening and friendly It is uncertain Above all V agon Seed6 is promise It is fertile with ideas unbounded to be cultivated with creativity and imagination It is challenge It is alive It will be more than it is V agon Seed6 is yours May it grow with you The Editors - ' I PL DRAGON SEEDS Publisher DONALD E MCCOWN CHIEF B4 Managing F ditor Minnie M Kenny Executive Editor Roberts Benjamin Rewrite Editor Jane E Dunn Special Interest Editor Ray F Lynch Feature Editor Robert F Kreinheder Education Editor Marian I Reed Composition Louella M Ertter PRESS CORPS Bll Carolyn Y Brown B42 Peggy Barnhill ' B2 Georges Patterson B43 Mary Ann Lasl4 B31 Jack Spencer B61 B32 Jean Gilligan B62 Edmund J Guest B33 Louis Ambrosia B63 William Eley B41 James w B65 Philip J Gallagher Schmidt l'OP f seo UMBRl 86-36 50 USC 3605 1 EO 3 3b 3 PL 86-36 50 USC 3605 VOL 2 IV 1973 NR TlllE If CDITEITI 1972-73 L Thomas 2 A Viet Nam Odyssey ••• Leo Stepp Edward 'Connor 8 Chinese Communications Developments •••••••• Jack Christmas at the School ••••••••••• • ••• Morris L Ferguson 17 Time to Look at People •••••••••••••••••••••• Tom lenn III 19 The Open Door Are You Using Computers •• Dr Waltjar Jacobs 21 Minnie's MINI •••••••••••••••••••••• • •••••• Minni M Ken y 23 B Needs Its own Computer ••••••••••••••• William f Stivers ------------------------ -Seedlings Ask the Dragon Lady• Contributors Myers 24 31 'fOP Sl3Cft 'f U PIIBRA r U th tlti 6 l6 6 u e DRAGON SEEDS maJLk6 lt4 jecond ann lveJt 6a y 1 am pteaJed on be hat6 06 all 06 B GJr oup tc extend to lt6 publ i6he Jt e d itoJt t p-'l e 64 cc 1r p4 and con tJt ibutolt J cong1tatul a t ion6 and tlia11kJ oil making it a 6uc c u66ul attd 1ue6ul pu6t icat ion We have all bene6itted 6Jt m JOUII e 6 6o-tt6 • DRAGON SEEDS ha6 de l'lon6tJt ate d it1 wo1tth a 6 a valuable me a n 6 o 6 excha n9btg ln601tma t lo n among people in 8 FoJr analy1 t4 and tec hn icla n it ha-6 p1tov ide d an outlet -- l'l mean-4 to 6l1a Jr e -i de a6 to tell cthe Jr 6 06 1 ucce46e 6 to tea1tn abou tH W oJL d i6 6e1te nt techn iq u u -to e xpJte u c once 1tn6 and to a6k que 4tlcn6 Folt o theJr 4 it ha 6 g ive n a ne« 1 undeJr 6tand lng 06 cpu at-i onal pJt obte m6 h i ghl i 9h ted a ddi t -io•ta t a 'tea4 06 inte Jt e 6 t6 and 0Ue 1te d ome new pe Jr ception 6 ott how we go about ouJt bcu ineu 1 t ha6 made u 6 awa11 e 06 impoJt tant de ve topme nt6 not othe1tw i4e pubtLc ized FoJr all 06 u 6 DRAGON SEEDS i6 ln6c11 mative it inv ltu U 6 to tit-ink i t lielp-b uJ to do ouJr job 6 be tte 1t We all 4houtd to 6 ee that DRAGON SEEDS cont inue 6 to e1tve u welt W lth ou f continued in e1te4ted 6uppo t and wiltingne66 to contlt lbu tc a1tt lci u 1 it will Ile ma in a 1t elevatt t and u 6 e 6ut way to 4 na1te op e 1ta t io nat and technical ldca 6 with in 8 G1toup 1101tk Happy atrn i ve1t6a1ty DRAGON SEEDS May you continue to ln6t1tuct ln 6p l1te and pltovoke u6 1 WP SGCRE'f UMBRA - - --·- ----- ·-- - -· ' - CHINESE COMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENTS Where Have The Been Where Are They Going by Jack L Tomas B44 i4 high echnotogy in China today Indeed t would be 6ai to 4peak 06 an etect onic evolution in many 6ield4 The4e This statement will undoubtedly raise eyebrows of a number of readers and trigger the response which China are we talking about Certainly not the People's Republic of China But we are talking about the PRC And the statement for the most part coincides with beliefs held by the handful of Chinese technique watchersn who have followed evolving PRC communications developments and trends throughout the years But how did the Chinese reach this point so suddenly apparently without our knowing about it until only recently The answer is that they of course did not reach this point suddenly nor recently It has been evolving over a number of years and generally speaking we have been aware of it What the Chinese have denied us over the years has been the detail needed to tie the bits and pieces into an overall China-wide picture Their penchant for security bordering on national paranoia is well known to analysts who have follm1cd the problem from any standpoint throughout the years and this pertains to the communications technique watchers as well This is not to say though that these analysts were totally blind to the overall picture that was evolving nor were they totally without information to predict specific developments which later often proved highly accurate Documentation exists that will substantiate accurate reporting on developments and trends in many areas of the Chinese communications establishment These predictions however were of necessity frequently general having as their basis a variety of sources which were often too anemic too sparse or too tenuous to permit their being pieced together into a picture showing pre-cisely what the Chinese were doing or where they were headed Nor in many cases were they sufficient to permit detailed statements of specific PRC communications developments and trends that could be defended to the degree necessary to justify planning and programming actions f IL om H i g h T e chnolo gy ln Ch lna Scie nti le Ame i can Ve c embe 1912 by V4 Raphael T4u an 1BM p y4 C 4 who exten4ivety tou ed Ch lne6e 6acto i e un i ve 6itie and 4e 4e a ch c ent e ln the 4umme 06 1911 See the Summe 1913 l44ue 06 the C yptologic Spectll um 30 a eview o thi a tic te 1 2 'PQP 8ECR13'f UAIBRA -· - -----·---- ---------------------- 'fOP SEOIMff UMBHa Though in many instances analysts watching the problem daily could sense probable future developments they were often hardpressed to document their beliefs These analysts were of necessity a cautious group They had to be given the paucity and shakiness of their sources the scope of the problem confronting them and the rareness of their species In addition to their strict adherence to security the Chinese further frustrated analysts throughout the years by displaying amazing talent for being unpredictable They would surge forward in certain areas apparently determined to pursue these avenues to satisfactory conclusions But as analysts began to predict future trends on the basis of these developments the Chinese frequently and often without apparent reason changed their course or in some instances stopped development of a particular technique or system and showed no apparent future interest in it Especially perplexing was the fact that some of these efforts afforded the Chinese distinct advantages far outweighing other courses of action and in many cases seemed ideally sui ed to their particular needs Nor did they always develop their communications along lines considered advantageous by Western standards though in many areas the technology involved was almost certainly available to them But we should also keep in mind that what seems to us to be aberrations in Chinese developments may stem from either a lack of consensus among their planners on long-range goals or our inability to share their perspective on long-range goals This is not to say however that Chinese communications developments were stagnated during the years or showed no sustained advances Far from it The PRC has long considered communications and electronics to be high on its national priorities list Consequently internal disturbances such as the Cultural Revolution apparently did not slow research and development significantly in this area as was also apparently true of other high-priority areas And when the situation the Chinese inherited in 1949 is additionally considered--amounting to an almost non-existent communications capability decimated by years of war and few factories capable of producing needed equipment and systems--they have done quite well indeed This is all the more noteworthy when one also considers the almost total cutoff of Soviet technical aid to China in 1960 and until recently difficulties the Chinese encountered in obtaining technology equipment and systems from the West because of trade embargoes and restrictions 3 'fOP SBORB'f UMDRi't 'f0P SBORE'f Ui lBRA Workers r 1 Electric Appliances R ir Shop have made th s cqu pmcn1 10 produa silicon clements 4 'f0P SBORB'f U1-IBR1 'fOP SECftlft' UMHfb At the same time however the Chinese have not totally been without Western help nor did the Sino-Soviet rift totally stop their progress By 1960 the Soviets had given them a solid base upon which to expand--from components equipment systems and technology to whole factories This Soviet assistance coupled with the considerable quantities and varieties of equipment and technology not subject to Western embargo enabled the Chinese to leap perhaps as much as 10 to 15 years ahead of what otherwise probably would have been the case Additionally the Chinese learned a valuable lesson from the Sino-Soviet rift and from the difficulties of acquiring assistance from the West From about 1960 they increasingly turned of necessity toward self-reliance in this and other highly technical fields But much of the equipment and technology gleaned from the West was not the most sophiticated by world standards at the time they acquired it and it was by and large limited to components and specific equipments Large and complete systems and the factories to build conununications items were almost totally denied the Chinese by trade restrictions But the technical aid the Chinese did receive nevertheless represented significant steps forward for them and gave them technology and equipment that could be copied produced adapted to their particular needs and used operationally--and in some cases later improved upon as well Foreign equipment and technology afforded them the sorely needed base upon which to build their communications establishment--through copy modification and domestic manufacture And although Soviet technical aid was severed in 1960 the equipment systems and technology acquired from the Soviets before the rift served the Chinese well for years to come The rest the Chinese for the most part apparently accomplished on their own displaying along the way their well-known ability to make-do with what they had available and leaving the acquisition and employment of sophisticated technology to follow in due· course after basic needs had been satisfied Through this process and through increasing interest in more sophisticated te hniques in recent years the Chinese have developed their communications establishment to the point where today it can be said to be capable of supporting the basic needs of the nation One word of caution the Chinese may--and probably do--have technology and equipment of higher sophistication and in greater quantity than they have been given credit for As noted previously no target nation has in the past revealed less about its technical progress Fortunately however we have been able to learn something additional about Chinese design and production from captured 5 'l'OP BSORB UMBRA 'fOP SHOfttff UMIJftl equipment in South Vietnam some of which Agency engineers compared favorably with the latest Western technology in this area But surprising as this was even more disturbing was the fact that certain of these equipments had been available to the Chinese military in considerable quantities years before they were captured and that we had no previous information whatsoever about them Their existence was a total surprise and so was their degree of sophistication Nor are these probably isolated examples1 there is little doubt that the Chinese have developed tactical--and other--equipment and systems incorporating highquality design about which we are unaware and about which we may not become aware except in contingency operations or a national emergency Having developed a communications system capable of supporting the basic present-day needs of the country where are the Chinese headed in the future The recent and dramatic rapprochement with the U S and other Western nations coupled with Chinese determination to advance rapidly as an industrial power will call for sharp increases in both the quantity and quality of communications facilities--both internal and external both radio and landline At the same time slackening of trade restrictions ill make advanced Western technology equipment and systems increasingly available to the Chinese And they seem determined to avail themselves of them to quickly bridge present gaps--not just single sets and components that they can copy and produce but entire systems as well and in some cases factories to produce them They now state publicly that they are in fact after entire systems and factories to the limits their economy and foreign exchange will permit and that they want them as fast as they can be acquired There is little doubt that they will get them and that the Chinese will insist on and will receive varieties incorporating the latest technology This availability of advanced Western technology and equipment combined with their own rapidly expanding domestic design and production capabilities point toward solid future Chinese successes in these and related areas Also to be kept in mind China like other Collltlunist countries can concentrate tremendous effort on areas of national priority and communications and electronics advances could therefore occur at a faster rate and at higher levels of sophistication than present information may indicate 6 '110P BEORtJf UMBRA 'fOP SBORfff HMIJRk In conclusion the Chinese are on the threshold of an electronic revoluation and within the next decade will demonstrate technological progress that will place it among the advanced industrial powers of the world in this and other highly technical fields Chinese communications and electronics developments in future years will therefore become an increasingly interesting and challenging problem to follo steadily becoming more complex but at the same time providing rnore--and more reliable--material to our analysts thanks to the opening up of China This situation will place increasing demands on those in the Intelligence Community responsible for keeping abreast of such developments and on those at NSA where we like to keep ahead of them Yuh•ien County workcn produce coal tar aasoline diesel uc l and asphalt with siml le equipment they made from waste matenals 7 110P BBORIR UMBRl 1972-73 A VIET NAM ODYSSEY by Leo c Stepp and Edward A O'Connor F46 App oximately 125 km6 SSw 06 Saigon 6ou hou 6 by bu6 6ix and one-hat6 hou44 by cyclo two tank-6 06 ga6 by Honda and 6o4ty mlnute6 by ALA Ame11 lca Gooney Bi d ln Phong Vlnh P11 ovince Cent11 al Mekong Velta lle6 the beautiftul t opical 6plendo 06 Can Tho City and 4anctua y klde-away 604 1V Co p-6' uthle64 lnt epld U S Adv i 4011 y Team It was the Lunar Year of the Rat when the Odyssey began The mission was to advise South Vietnamese Army ARVN personnel while they assumed the u s SIGINT mission in the delta from USM-607 Since there was no established precedence to follow each problem encountered had to be dealt with in a uniaue manner Realizing that extensive changes were essential to make the transfer of responsibility efficient the first priority of the advisors was to circumvent the inherent language barrier and to establish a workable rapport vith their ARVN counterparts This was achieved to some extent through patient guidance and constant interface i e sign language graphic illustrations etc With such techniques at their disposal advisors began to examine the innumerable problem areas Initial corrective efforts were directed at security procedures which were almost non-existent The following aberrations were rectified immediately first there was no ARVN officer on duty during weekends or holidays second an excess of defunct classified material was stored in file cabinets and boxes third and most important ARVN personnel were not familiar with the use of the numerous incendiary devices for the emergency destruction of crypto-gear and classified documents In addition advisors established a picture badge identification system and access list for all au t horized personnel This list excluded one unidentified indigenous individual who purportedly was employed by the 335th Radio Research RR Company to guard the antenna field Although the unit 335th RR Co departed Nguyen remained vigilant as ever at the expense of an unknown source · Concurrent with improving security practices a program to extend Manual Morse intercept capability was implemented Vietnamese operators had and were continuously receiving 1 Can Tho CenteJt antenna 6ield i located in a non 6ecu1te a1tea app oximately SOO W4 d NE 06 the opeJtation bun eJt 8 iJ0P BtiOR UMBR 1 -- -- ----·-·- - ---- _ _ training in intercept techniques but their proficiency was far below that of their u s predecessors Specifically their copying speed was approximately eight words per minute they could not backlink activity and they were unaware of the effectiveness of Morse operator characteristics analysis After discussing these problems with the ARVN commanding officer CO advisors received permission to reorganize and supervise the training program The new program was successful enough so that the supervision was eventually returned to the ARVN's When new personnel arrived they assumed their duties with a minimum amount of on-the-job training OJT However after several months the operators as well as other personnel began to lose their incentive To eliminate this negative attitude the ARVN CO was convinced to initiate a Soldier of the Month award This consisted of 5 000 Piaster provided by the advisors and a Letter of Recognition By u s standards the award was minimal but the ploy worked The competitive spirit between sections increased and following the first presentation all personnel were striving to achieve this award The first award was presented to the Airborne Radio Direction Finding Ground-to-Air radio operator Significantly the ARDF tip-off function had undergone an extensive transformation and emerged from a state of chaos and confusion to the point of receiving special recognition In fact standard operating procedures were produced by this section and disseminated for employment throughout South Viet Nam Following the cease-fire and associated withdrawal of American military personnel the U6A ARDF aircraft assigned to the U S 146th aviation company were transferred to Saigon Although four missions were tasked from Saigon daily numerous problems occurred and approximately one mission per day was flown Believing ARDF effectiveness could be increased with additional missions advisors clamored for the assignment of ARDF aircraft at Can Tho Center CTC and the accompanying requirement for preparation of tech data lists TDL's for each mission When four U6A's were finally returned to Can Tho the ARVN's did not possess the sophisticated secure air-to-ground voice communications as American predecessors and relied solely on the much slower process of one-time pads Nevertheless with Can Tho assuming control of the aircraft and providing mission tech data ARDF results began to improve and personnel were instructed in methods of altering mission frag points to maintain greater cognizance on priority targets As a result more information was provided traffic analysts enhancing development efforts 9 'fOP SBOMJf OMW In the early stages of the Vietnamization improvement and modernization VIM Program there were only five analysts assigned to the T A section two of which were radio operators for ARDF ground-to-air tip-off The remaining three were required to devote all their time to preparing and transmitting daily TECSUMS To increase productivity five additional analysts were transferred to CTC but they had only recently completed school and were unfamiliar with operations Complicating this situation the new people spent almost three months painting filling sand bags and satisfying other administrative trivialities When they were finally released to operations their training was accelerated In March 1973 the procedure for filing tech data was altered a new system to handle unidentified entities was established and the TECSUM format was revised to facilitate changes Once analysts overcame their fear of error development was successful and new entities were notated and forwarded as isolated Although positive results were being attained a recurring difficulty plagued the TA section the perplexing importance of serialization NR's and chatter extracts and the necessity for accurate logging of all entries to satisfy a computer -- an alien wonder they had never seen but were told existed In addition to the lack of experience and comprehension only one traffic analyst spoke English and he was hospitalized with pneumonia for three months during this critical period Instruction pointing and drawing illustrations was provided through non-analytic interpreters and with the limited operational Vietnamese of the advisors After many hours of frustrating and occasionally humorous guidance on the part of both advisors and ARVN personnel periodic checks of the TECSUM and raw traffic indicated a continued improvement and a decreasing error rate Similar complications occurred with exploitable message reports EMR's in the cryptanalysis section Lack of experience again was a prime detriment and initially no exploitation was performed Personnel only logged and forwarded EMR's from the three ASTD's 2 Once the C A shop was expanded to twelve analysts a training program basic cryptanalytic techniques for exploitation and identification of messages was instituted Since the ARVN's readily adapted to the program and acquired the basic skills rapidly one man was sent TDY to each ASTD to establish similar programs of instruction Eventually 90% of low-level voice intercept was identified new cryptosystems were isolated and forwarded and local commanders received required perishable intelliUence 2 AST expand ta ARVN Special Technical ve achmen 10 19P 8130Mi UMBRA - - ---- - - -- -- __ ___ OP SBORE'f UMBRA __ J o MARCA TION UHE SOUTH VIETNAM ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS - - - • Military corps boundary Provine • boundary Autonomous munlc lpollty 0 25 50 75 100 Miles --- - - _ 25 50 75 100 Kilometer• 0 DAO PHIi QUOC C•••N o AHO XU'l RH CON ION IAd io- - SoifO J 11 OP SBOH'f U IBRA Although results were favorable there is no implication intended that the cryptanalytic effort was without its peculiar headaches Numerous problems were experienced in couriering intercept from LLVI teams and from ASTD's when circuit outages occurred Since the situation vacillated in direct relationship to the tactical environment advisors were stymied in endeavors to alleviate this dilemma Despite the requirement air transportation helicopter was seldom available and courier by road was extremely hazardous Yet LLVI teams attempted courier every two-to-three weeks and when necessary even traveled by bus in civilian clothes Without any secure means available to transmit intercept for preparation of EMR's these methods were the only alternatives to satisfy demands for timeliness Although timeliness is an innate characteristic of the SIGINT mission natural and man-made phenomena often alter the course of events An excellent example was the selection of a location and construction of CTC's AN TRD-23 medium range direction finding MRDF site Between July and September each year the tropical monsoons visit Can Tho Again field expediency dictates nothing shall be wasted to include monsoons therefore concurrent with the arrival of the monsoon was Can Tho's Annual Aqua Festival Although these festivals improved morale and helped solidify relations with the local inhabitants the Year of the Rat proved to be the last of the aquacade follies In May 1972 land surveyors from Engineer Region IV ER-4 inspected the only possible location for Can Tho's proposed MRDF site which unfortunately was one and the same as mini-lake where the festivals were held The surveyors estimated that approximately 7 000 cubic meters of fill dirt would be required to displace and remove all the water from mini-lake so that a base for the site could begin All of these calculations led to numerous guestions not to mention where next year's Aqua Follies would be held Where would this amount of dirt be found ' 'i Once found how would it be transported to the proposed site • and finally Who would finance the venture Because this MRDF site would be an integral part of the ARVN MRDF net serving all of South Vietnam and would be manned by ARVN personnel it was automatically assumed that the ARVN's would make all financial and building arrangements After two months of ARVN procrastination paper shuffling and overall apparent apathy the advisors decided to initiate some action 12 1'0P B C E UMBRA SEORS'f UMBRA There were two weeks of rambling over the countryside in a jeep over roads previously traveled only by reconnaissance teams Then the advisors found a large farm-like residence with an expanse of adjoining land After several hours of verbal pingpong threats shouts obscenities and finally handshakes the advisors had bargained with the owner for the required amount of fill dirt The nominal fee agreed upon was eight 55-gallon drums of gasoline hopefully provided by Uncle Sam and six cases of American beer provided reluctantly by the advisors from their very limited personal cache The fill dirt dilemma was solved transporting it from the farm to mini-lake was still another predicament After several sociable evenings with members of the ER-4 team the advisors were able to borrow several five-ton trucks and one front-end loader to fill them There were no operators available to run any of the machinery so the ruthless intrepid advisors began a trial and error fill dirt operation that would have put Conte out of business in a week Anyway two weeks and 184 truckloads later overlooking hours of exasperation at the controls of the front-end loader or back and vocal strain when trucks were unprofessionally backed too far into mini-lake and had to be push-pulled out the base level was nearly workable However continuous rains along with the rising water table postponed any substantial achievements until early December '72 when the earth finally dried up and initial work began on the installation of the TRD-23 While operations were unning as smoothly as could be expected at mini-lake 500 meters to the Northwest was another facet of the MRDF project This was the location of the obsolete AN TRD-4 site where some of the equipment for the mini-lake had been stored The removal of this equipment left only the hut connecting cables and antennas By order of the Commander of Can Tho airfield a different section of perimeter grass was burned each month As fate would have it the date for burning grass in the area of the TRD-4 site coincided with the operation at mini-lake and no advisors were available to monitor the burning G I 's from the airfield corranand trudged out early one morning to begin their detail With gasoline cans and blow torches they began what was supposed to be a small controlled well supervised grass fire All went well for the first hour or so Personnel were strategically placed armed with shovels and rakes just in case something should happen An undetected slight change of wind in volicity and direction began to move the fire towards the AN TRD-4 hut and its many antenna cables Before 13 I I 'f8P SBORlff UM A anyone realized what was happening the highly inflammable cables began to burn and spread towards the remaining antennas This probably could have been stopped with a minimum of effort if there had not been a war in progress ARVN helicopters returning from a sweep and destroy mission flying low over the airfield fanned the flames in every direction at once creating pandemonium and mass chaos Before the fire could be brought under control approximately $1 500 00 worth of cable connectors and antennas had been destroyed Meanwhile back at mini-lake to insure that future rains would not destroy the equipment installed for the TRD-23 everything was elevated 1 foot This was accomplished by pouring concrete antenna pedestals 12 high for each of the 26 antennas and two 12 thick 12Xl8' slabs to support the generators and the TRD hut All this was completed in three weeks with most of the time being conswned scrounging cement and lumber for forms Before any antennas could be placed on their respective pedestals four perimeter poles each 40' high had to be erected in each of the four corners of the antenna array with aircraft warning lights fixed to the top of each one This was necessary because 11 mini-lake TRD-23 site was only 200 feet from the end of the Can Tho airfield runway As soon as the poles were in place the lights had to be operational1 thus another project was temporarily halted until a power source could be found The only generator in the area was owned by the Pacific Architects and Engineers PA E -AKA- promises alibi's and excuses so advisors approached them and obtained permission to use their generator Yet another delay of three weeks was incurred because PA E had another requirement to supply power for the joint military commission JMC and the international commission for control and supervision ICCS peace-keeping forces while they were at Can Tho airfield The delay came as a blessing Checking their cable supply the advisors discovered a shortage and the generator in question was approximately 1 4 of a mile away After securing additonal cable the day finally came when the power was available When the poles went up the electrical cable was laid 1 4 of a mile to the generator the aircraft warning lights were working and now the final installation of antennas could begin Not two hours later a Vietnamese garbage truck making its daily run through the airfield veered off the road cut the electric cable just laid and fell two of the 40 foot poles supporting the aircraft warning lights Had the advisors not been pillars of virtue and posse sed of great fortitude this would have discouraged them But being ruthless intrepid types they had the cable spliced and the poles back in place in a matter of hours 14 oP 8Flca1s UMBRitl Finally on St Valentine's Day 1973 the metamorphosis of mini-lake was a reality and Can Tho's AN TRD-23 MRDF site became operational ARVN personnel however were not familiar with even the most basic maintenance procedures to support the site Any outages that occurred were normally extended until TDY personnel from Saigon could diagnose the malfunction and acquire the necessary parts Inadequate maintenance capabilities not only plagued the MRDF site but all facets of operations--vehicles generators air conditioners comma signal-equipment etc Since CTC was only permitted to perform first echelon maintenance repairmen assigned received only limited training as opposed to the extensive schooling afforded their u s predecessors As a result of limitations any equipment malfunctions usually had an extended adverse effect on the entire operation As at any other field station Can Tho's nucleus was the communications center C c Without this equipment running smoothly the station was cut-off from the rest of the intelligence community Prior to January '73 W33's intercept designator for CTC Because of cramped working conditions maintenance personnel could not perform daily preventive maintenance PM which resulted in many operational hours lost Recognizing the cracker box problem advisors suggested to higher headquarters Unit 15 - Saigon Center that the c c at Can Tho be relocated to the area vacated by the u s c c This move would facilitate the following first daily PM could be performed thereby eliminating approximately 50 of equipment down-time second the addition of three new circuits two with Saigon one with the proposed 44th Support Platoon could be accommodated third a significant amount of circuitry and equipment was left by the u s communications people which would simplify the transition fourth the proposed area provided ample space to house all c c equipment and would also allow for further expansion should the need arise and finally the new area had the much needed direct air conditioning ducts to aid in keeping the equipment cool and operating With Saigon's concurrence the move was made and the c c began to run smoothly c c experienced many maintenance problems For any operations to run smoothly constant supervision and guidance are necessary therefore every month the senior advisor accompanied the CO CTC on his inspection tour to the 15 'f0P 8 BOMYI' UMBRA three subordinate ASTD's These trips provided an on the spot review of equipment personnel - problems at hand and any foreseeable problems could be discussed Transportation was always the fastest best mechanically tuned jeep available at CTC while the ARVN driver was a conglomerate of Andy Granatelli Richard Petty Bobby Unser and Steve McQueen This combination of driver and jeep was needed most on trips to the 7th ASTD located in Dinh Tyong Province To reach the 7th from My Tho City a spine-tingling drive along ambush alley a stretch of road approximately 1000 meters long flanked by thick jungle on both sides was necessary This was where jeep driver and all occupants hoped for a new speed record on each and every trip These monthly sojourns into the VC NVA occupied suburbs of the Mekong Delta also allowed for sampling of the local culinary gastronomical delights offered at the many roadside stands These stands are known by many pseudonyms Ba rnuoi ba 11 stands named after the Vietnamese Bier 33 Hepatitis Stands named after post dinner complications and more commonly known to all as ••the local Howard Johnsons Inevitably upon their return to Can Tho the ruthless intrepid advisors proceded posthaste usually with a gait reminiscent to that of the Green Apple Quick Step to the dispensary for a small white envelope humorously marked Stop Gap 1' or Cement Pills for internal use only The successful transition from u s to ARVN COMINT operations has been evaluated and found satisfactory The only unanimous regret reflected by both ARVN and U S personnel involved is that the VIM Program didn't begin earlier Naturally there is always room for improvement but keeping in mind the newness of the Vietnamese in the COMINT business much credit must be given for their many accomplishments in such a short period of time The advisors at Can Tho Center feel that the desire of the Vietnamese to constantly better the quality of their COMINT product will continue and enhance the overall Vietnamese Intelligence effort NOTE The p4eceding a ticle only high-lighted 4ome on the achievement4 and humoll a44ocia ted with the Vie tnamizat-lon 1mpllovement and Mode Jlniza t lon PJLogJLam in IV Collp4 To di4CU44 the numellou4 anomal le4 and couective ac tlon4 that occuJLlled on a daily ba4i4 would be cumbe Jl 4ome and would detlla ct 64om the continuity event4 1n lleality the4e daily occu41Lence4 onten had the cha4acte i4tic4 o 6 the a im U 4 wandeJLing4 on an ody44 ey and the 0uu li ty o at tacking windmill4 o 16 4'9P BBCRm UMBBh CHRISTMAS AT THE SCHOOL by Morris L Ferguson B43 On the 6i1t4t day 06 Ch1tiAtma4 my ZnAt1tucto1t gave to me A Wilted Rotolt in a maze 06 th1tee On the Aec ond day 06 Ch1tiAtma6 my InAtltucto t gave to me Two EndptateA 4tecke1ting and a Wi1ted Rotolt in a maze 06 th1tee On the thi1td day 06 Ch1ti4tmaA my In4t1tucto1t gave to me Th1tee Lob4telt4 totting two EndplateA Atec ke1ting and a Wilted Rotolt in a maze 06 th1tee On the 6ou1tth day 06 Ch1t U tmaA my 1M t1tuc to11 gave to me Foult Stem-Top Mu4hltoom4 th1tee Lob6te1tA 1tolling two Endptate6 4tecke1ting and a Wilted Ro tolt in a maze 06 th1tee On the 6i6th day 06 Ch1ti4tma4 my 1n4t1tuc to1t gave to me Five Stepping Whee LA 6ou1t Stem-Top MuAh1toomA th1tee tobAteltA 1tolting two EndptateA Atec ke1ting and a Wilted Rotolt in a maze 06 th11 ee On the 4ixth day 06 Ch1ti6tma4 my Zn4t1tuc to1t gave to me Six Sh1timp a-4h1timping 6ive Stepping WheetA 6oult Stem-Top Mu6h1toomA th1tee tob4telt4 1tolting two EndptateA Atecke1ting and a Wilted Rotolt in a maze 06 th1tee On the Aeventh day 06 Ch1ti6tmaA my 1nAt1tuc to1t gave to me Seven Pa1taltet Wi1te6 Aix Sh11 imp a-Ah1timping 6ive Stepping Wheel4 6ou1t Stem-Top MuAh1toomA th1tee LobAteltA totting two Endptate4 Atec ke1ting and a Wilted Rotolt in a maze 06 th1tee On the eighth day 06 Ch1ti4tmaA my 1n4t1tuc to1t gave to me Eight F'4 a At1tippin9 Aeven Pa1talte t Wi1te4 4ix Sh1timp a Ah1timping 6ive Stepping Whee LA 6oult Stem-Top MuAh1toomA th1tee LobAteltA totting two EndptateA 4tec ke1ting and a Wilted Rotolt in a maze 06 th1tee 17 'f0P SIKJH'f UMBR 'fOP 8t30RB UMBM On the ninth day 06 Ch4i6tma6 my 1n6t4ucto4 gave to me Nine 1nve46e Rod Squa4e6 eight F1 6 a-6t4ipping 6even Pa4atlet Wl e6 6ix Sh imp a-6h impln9 6ive Stepping Wheet6 6ou4 Stem-Top Mu6h4oom6 th4ee Lob6te46 4oltlng two Endptate6 6tecke4ing and a Wi4ed Roto4 in a maze 06 th4ee On the tenth day 06 Ch4l6tma6 my 1n6t4uc to gave to me Ten Viagonat6 4unning nine 1nve46e Rod Squa4e6 eight F'6 a-6t4lpping 6even Pa4atlet Wi4e6 6ix Sh4imp a-6h4implng 6lve Stepping Wheel6 Fou4 Stem-Top Mu6h4oom6 th4ee Lob6te46 4otling two endplate6 6tecke4lng and a Wi4ed Roto4 in a maze 06 th4ee On the eleventh day 06 Ch4i6tma6 my 1n6t4ueto4 gave to me Eleven Reotec to 6 4eelp oeating ten Vlagonal6 4unnlng nine 1nve46e Rod Squa4e6 eight F'6 a-6t4lpping 6even Pa4allel Wl4e6 Six Sh4imp a-6h4lmplng 6ive Stepping Wheet6 Fou4 Stem-Top Mu6h4oom6 th4ee Lob6te46 oiling two endplate6 6tecke4ing and a Wi4ed Roto4 in a maze 06 th4ee On the twel6 th day 06 Ch4i6 tma6 my 1n6t4ucto4 gave to me Twelve K 1 6 a-boxing eleven Re6tecto46 4ecip4ocating ten Viagonal6 4unnlng nine Inve46e Rod Squa4e6 eight F 1 6 a-6 t4ipping 6even Pa4altel Wi4e6 6ix Sh4imp a-6h4imping 6lve Stepping Wheeta Fou4 Stem-Top Mu6h4oom6 th4ee Lob6te46 4olling two Endptate6 6tecke4ing and a Wi4ed Roto4 in a maze 06 th4ee • ' 18 'f8P St30Rti'f UMBRA ---c ---- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - 'f8P 88JIHff UMBlh TDIE TO LOOK AT PEOPLE By Tom Glenn B61 Many perhaps mos of the organizations within B Group h ve been facing tough times lately Billet cuts some of Herculean proportions and the resulting excess lists moves from job to job1 lack of promotions and rife rumors of RIFS or worse--all have worked against us The Director has asked us People Concerns 12 October 1973 to give compassionate intelligent attention to the concerns of our people as a most important requirement of our management It's high timewedid According to the latest estimates I have been able to find and these are hearsay--I cannot confirm them NSA now spends more than two-thirds of its budget on salary1 given the radically changing budget-salary ratio in years to come we will soon reach three quarters It would make eminently good sense therefore if we spent a commensurate amount of management time concerning ourselves with doing the right things to make our people effective and efficient From my observations I am convinced wa do not and the effects will come home to roost sooner rather than later Our stress in personnel management has consistently been on the external rules of operation vice common sense about what makes people work effectively We spend enormous energy for example considering whether people fit the billet structure instead of whether the billet structure fits the people We concern ourselves with numbers of people assigned in various categories instead of addressing who it is we need to get the job done We have in effect created a myth world of personnel rules prodigious in their complete divorce from operational needs and more important from common sense approach to the concerns of people The impact on people of these rules has been less in the pas·t than it is now partly because we have never before applied them relentlessly and partly because the abundance of our budget in· the past gave us slack and flexibility we no longer have We have now learned if nothing else the disastrous effects on morale and productivity that unquestioning execution of personnel rules can cause The problem is that we continue to do it anyway I am at a loss to understand why we do this It may be partly because conventional wisdom dichotomizes concerns for productivity and concern for people e g Blake-Mouton's management grid But it takes little experience to stumble on the blunt truth 19 'f8P BBCIHff UMBlb 'fOP fffl€Rfff UMBRA that in people organizations people are the source of productivity Only a feeble effort of the mind is required to carry the logic further--that people involved in problem solving or other creative endeavors such as net reconstruction code recovery cryptanalysis translation report writing do much better when they are happy than when they are not In short concern for productivity means concern for people so long as any initiative whatever is required But maybe we are really not concerned with productivity at all As deranged as that sounds I suspect that many an organization in B Group has not consciously addressed what it considers to be its output its product if you like and how to measure it The inescapable conclusion of all this is that we in B Group must direct our foremost efforts towards our people vice things lco'Tlection gadgets machine programs telephone fixtures and typewriters Unless of course we are really not concerned with productivity -As must be obvious to the reader I am abashed and puzzled I'd be pleased to know the readers' thoughts by what I think I see going on ••• 16 tho he who aJt e exc e t ten t 6ind no p1t e6e1t ment The people will cea4e t o c on te nd 601t pJt omo U on ---Lao Tzu 20 '110P 8lfiHH' UMBRi TIE OPEN DOOi We 1 ·e e fl to be compan i on4 along the way The tante n which we ca i 4 ot ou 4 The 4p i it which we iha e 4 con ag o t ought The knowledge which we gain an ttum nat ng to ch And alt who 1 e ek may pe ceive and te a n -The Concept ot V agon See cu ARE YOU USING COMPUTERS by Dr Walter Jacobs Does fear of the computer discourage you from using it to help you in your work If so you may be hurting your chances for advancement You can accomplish much more when you properly use the computer than you can without it A person who distrusts computers may be subconsciously afraid the computer might take away his job True computers today are doing many things that ten or twenty years ago had to be done by people However these things are tasks that demand no judgment and call for repetitive operations following consistent rules Unless a job is challenging - unless it continually draws on the imagination initiative and intelligence of the one doing it it may be performed carlessly inefficiently and with limited attention In that case it may be true that a computer can do it better In most jobs however a substantial amount of time is spent on routine and repetitious work If much of this work can be turned over to the computer more time and attention can be given to those aspects of the job that require experience and expertise The work becomes more stimulating and the product improves in quality and quantity When you begin to organize your computer the fresh look you take at unexpected benefits New and better overlooked could surface A case in 21 work to make use of the what you are doing can bring approaches you may have point happened in t e f eld of medical diagnosis and its implications for Agency professionals should be clear A project was set up in New York City some years ago to develop a computer procedure to do differential diagnosis f coronary heart disease two expert heart specialists were s lected o wor on the project There are 22 varieties of ailments i v lving the coronary arteries and their symptoms are often so similar that even specialists cannot be sure which is present only surgery or - worse yet - an autopsy reveals the specific trouble In a set of actual cases assembled as data to be used in the project the specialists were able to make an exact diagnosis in only 72 percent of the cases These specialists working with an experienced systems analyst developed a computer program that could reach a diagnosis from the type of information provided Using the same data the first program gave correct results in about half the cases Applying continued effort over a period of two years the spe cialists improved the procedure to the point where its score on a new set of test cases rose to about 70 percent But the specialists themselves with the sharpened understanding they had gained in the project were nearly 90 percent correct on these new cases Of course the computer procedure could not be relied on to replace a physician in doing diagnosis It does seem clear however that the doctor could improve his diagnoses with the help of the program Especially when it incorporates the experience and technique of the best practitioners its contribution should enchance his own decisions except where he simply accepts the computer results in an uncritical way Perhaps a doctor who would do that ought to be replaced by the computer Learn about the computer programs that are available in your field They may help you do a better job Use them with understanding and judgment Make improvements to the procedures where your knowledge allows you to do so Your own career as well as the Agency's work will benefit 22 '1'0P SBOH'f UMBR-A T6P Wltfff UMBRA MINNIE'S MINI by Minnie M Kenny 1 t 4eem4 like age6 ago when i t all began We we4e 6 tilt at FANX and had ju6t expe4ienced the nine hund4ed and ninety-ninth powe4 outage No COPE no RYE no 6100 no NOTHING To top it alt 066 it wa6n' t even 4a lning Now what kind 06 P4ov ldence i6 tha t We came up with an idea why not hang a tape d4 lve on that modi6ied PVP-8 catted the COPE te4minal boa6 ting it6 memo4y by 4K and decla4e ou4 independence 64om Cent4al Cont4ol No way We got bottled up in channel6 and bu4ied unde4 pape4wo4k Tha t'6 when 1 began d4eaming 06 de4k• top te4minal6 604 C A applica tion6 Can't you imagine a u6e4-con t4olted 4y4tem 06 m ln lcompu te44 6ay one ma4te4 and th4ee 6lave4 w l th an lnte4changeable h le4a4chy to eliminate 4e4v lce lnte44uption when the4e'6 a mal6unct lon and a te4minat on each analy6t'6 de6k Why you'd ha4dly need c4o66-6ection pape4 and pencil6 One day 1 6 tumbled ac4046 6eve4al idle CRT4 1 wat noting a4ound down ln Cat the time I HAD to have them Hooked up to one 06 the ge ne 4al p4oce66o46 they'd make an adequate 6ub6 titute 604 my d4eam 6Y6tem 1 lo6 t out again 1 could pi4a te the tt4m lnal4 but 1 c ouldn' t bootleg the hook-up6 About thi4 time R came on the 6cene tauting minicompute46 with bli6te46 The y we4e developing in te4active CIA application6 And they wooed me with the p4omi6e 06 the 4ealizat lon 06 my d4eam We 6o4med a committee which 6o4me d a 6 tudy g4oup which 6o4med into te am6 which in6pec ted C A p4oce66e6 in B The 4e4ult6 a4e d l6CU64ed in the 6ollow lng a t lcle but •• I STILL WANT A MINI 23 j '1'0P SECR UMIIRII - - - - - - - --···- ' - - --- ·•• -' B NEEDS ITS OWN COMPUTER by William P Stivers Hll Recently R conducted a 5 month study called ALBRECHT to determine whether an interactive computer need existed in B Group for the analysis of low middle grade cryptosystems A five member study group composed of one member each from Rlll Rll3 R252 R313 and a CA intern with experience in Bl determined that such a need did exist The study group found that with an interactive computer many of the B target systems could be solved more efficiently and the time and versatility gained could be aimed at solving other B target systems The formal ALBRECHT STUDY report explains how the study was conducted and describes a computer system that would provide the interactive capability needed in B This article is a review of the main sections of the ALBRECHT report and is especially intended for those who may not read the formal report The ALBRECHT study began with visits to analysts in Bl to see the types of CA problems being worked and the techniques used in attacking the problem ALBRECHT visits focused on Bl because earlier tasking prior to the reorganization and physical moves had emphasized looking at that organization The types of CA problems being worked included diagnosis of unknown systems recovery of parameters of diagnosed systems and decryption In the first type of problem diagnosis an interactive system would facilitate the processes by instantaneously providing STET statistics while at the same time offering versatility to rapidly manipulate the data for other tests For instance if the tests indicated significant scores for a particular width the analyst could quickly and simply display the message on that width If null groups were suspected they could be edited out of the message with a few simple statements Each analyst could develop for his own data countless displays and tests all of which would be rapid in execution and yet relatively simple in construction The second class of problems parameter recovery is especially suitable for attack by an interactive computer Here where the modus operandi is trial and error testing of assumed parameters the interactive system would provide a rapid means for testing these assumptions For instance an analyst working a problem diagnosed as transposition but with an unknown width and key could repeatedly display the text on a 24 'f0P BBORiff UMBftft ---- c ----- --------- 4'0P SBORBf UMBRi scope according to assumed widths and keys After each display the analyst would base his next assumption on observed digraphic properties and other latent patterns until plaintext started forming In a chart system where a particular cipher group had several possible meanings the analyst could rapidly test each assumed meaning to determine which one was most likely correct Numerous other situations involving trial and error procedures with human intervention for decision making are done most efficiently on an interactive system The third class of problems decryption is not a prime candidate for attack by an interactive computer If all the parameters are known and the decryption process can be put into a clearly defined algorithm the problem is better solved on a compiler system without interaction If some of the parameters are sketchy however or if they are subject to frequent change the interactive system could again be a useful tool During ·the visits to Bl ALBRECHT also observed some noncryptanalytic problems that confront the analysts on a daily basis For instance the analysts have a problem of storing message hard copies data paper tapes data and program cards cipher and code charts and other miscellaneous program runs Most of the storage is in desks cabinets and boxes where retrieval after any period of time longer than a week becomes cumbersome With an interactive computer having large file capability the analyst could store much of the above materials in files and quick retrieval would be an elementary procedure Editing was also cumbersome when data had already been punched on paper tapes or cards Often if the analyst wanted to add or delete characters or non-textual groups the data had to be repunched In an interactive computer system editing chores such as changing adding or deleting characters and groups are simple matter-of-fact operations Another problem the analysts faced was the incompatability of the machine aids being used There was a RYE terminal with paper tape input a 360 COPE terminal with card input and a Burroughs outstation which also had card input but with special character punches different from those of the COPE terminal A file-structured interactive system where programs and message texts could be stored in files would eliminate the incompatability problem The analyst could do all the work at one terminal using files which had been created from desired peripheral input devices 25 'f8P StiOftfi'f UMBR ------ ---- ---------- 91 9- _ EO 3 3b 3 PL 86-36 50 USC 3605 After visiting the analysts in Bl members of ALBRECHT wrote APL programs for some of the CA problems they had observed The particular problems chosen were not the only ones suitable for interactive attack nor were they considered the best candidates for interaction They were simply chosen out of interest The study group used APL to program the problem because it is a truly interactive language and facilities for its use were convenient 26 'fOP StiCRlff UMBRA EO 3 3b 3 PL 86-36 50 USC 3605 In each of the demonstration problems programmed by ALBRECHT the advantages gained in continual accuracy and time saved were sizeable The human intervention for decision making which usually took the place of a branch that could not have been canned in a neatly defined algorithm was the predominant asset of the APL program Along with the visits to Band the demonstration programs the ALBRECHT study continued with technical demonstrations briefings and directed research Then prior to stating the actual _ system recommendat ons the study group made some general observations the main area of which dealt with programming languages Three languages APL FORTRAN and BETA were mentioned though ALBRECHT did not experiment with FORTRAN and BETA FORTRAN because it was not felt necessary and BETA because it would have delayed the study to learn it resources were not readily available and in no way was it the intention of the study to evaluated BETA APL is a truly interactive language that permits human intervention for decision making and redirection of the program Its mathematically oriented symbolism allows experienced programmers to write concise statements to perform the desired analysis The ease of character handling and the ease of array-structured data manipulation make APL attractive to the CA analyst programmer APL is ideally suited for short lived problems where the advantage of decreased programming time outweighs the consideration of CPU 27 'fOP BSORlff UMBRA -·- - - - - ----- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - p SBORfff HMBlh time This is important in B Group where ALBRECHT has observed that some of the demonstration problems progranuned by the study group have already died APL is also well suited as a test vehicle for new ideas or problems FORTRAN is a well known and widely used compiler lanquage Versions of FORTRAN more or less compatible with each other exist on all computer systems Being a compiler it produces efficient code and is well adapted for longer running jobs FORTRAN certainly should be on any NSA system BETA is an NSA developed and maintained compiler language It is oriented toward character and bit stream manipulation and cryptologic processes Since ALBRECHT never experimented with BETA it cannot comment on BETA's overall desirability or how easy it is to use or learn At the conclusion of the 5 months of study ALBRECHT made recommendations for a system to meet B's interactive needs ALBRECHT suggested that B Group be given definite access to a medium-to-larqe qeneral purpose computer The system should be file-oriented time shari g with a large file storage capability The file storage capability must be large perhaps as much as 32 million bits user since most of the data handling problem would be eliminated if all current and many past messages and analyst's programs could be stored in files The ability to create edit and peruse the files from the terminal is deemed a necessity for the proposed system The files must be easily spliced together and they must be easily linked as input to any job executed in any mode or written in any system language The linked files may be submitted at the terminal as either a time-sharing job immediate run or as a batch or background job The essential programming languages for the system are FORTRAN APL and assembly language Batch mode processing should be initiated at the terminal using files Also the analyst should be allowed to decide by inspecting an output file whether the output should be sent to the line printer The analyst should have most of the terminals should type with identical keyboard oriented system using CRT's ready access to the terminals and be of the CRT cathode ray tube and character sets With a file much of the hard copy output can 28 'PQP OR8'f UMBRA - ------- ---------------- -- - ---- ··- · - - - - - - be suppressed but it is still essential to have hard copy output readily available A system line printer is essential and one or more typewriter terminals and or device s that reproduce the CRT screen by photo-copy could be provided All character data throughout the system whether in core in file storage or in passing from or to the peripherals or terminals should be in compatible form ALBRECH'l' also suggests that B Group secure several 370 APL terminals as an intermediate action while pursuing the above proposed system The 370 APL terminal is a powerful analytical tool and its introduction into B Group would significantly enhance B's cryptanalytic effort • 29 l'OP BBCREI' Ul lHRli -· 'fOP SBORB'f OMtlR1 9POl f 5 FM DIRNSA TO USM-7 5 EC RE T POl f BbS-l21f8-73 CAMBODIAN PROCESSING YOUR 2b0730Z NOV 73 l THE FRENCH ABBREVIATION GRUNC EXPANDS QTE GOUVERNEMENT ROYAL D' UNITE NATIONAL£ DU CAMBODGE UNQTE QTE GRUNK UNQTE EXPANDS GOVERNEMENT ROYAL D'UNITE NATIONAL£ DU KAMPUCHEA UNQTE BOTH XLATE QTE ROYAL GOVERNMENT OF THE NATIONAL UNION OF CAMBODIA UNQT I IS THE ENGLISH EQUIVALENT Of GRUNC GRUNK QT£ RGNUC UNQTE WHEN ABBREVIATION QT GRUNC UNQTE OR QTE GRUNK UNQTE IS OBSERVED IN A MSG PLS USE APPROPRIATE ABBREVIATION IN XLATION AND FOOTNOTE QTE ROYAL GOVERNMENT OF THE NATIONAL UNION OF CAMBODIA UNQT GRUNC OR GRUNK ARE THE ACCEPTED ABBREVIATIONS FOR CAMBODIAN PRODUCT XGDS 2 - REVIEWED BY CONCUR N p MOORE D CH BbSl MR LEE Bb5 BbO MR JAMIESON eoct MR CHASE B Bb Bb5 87 G 23 ASALNGP w R NIEDERHAUSER Bb5l2 7l bS GEOFFREY c WOOD Bb5 7l78S 30 'l'QP SECBECI UMBRA EO 3 3b 3 PL 86-36 50 USC 3605 'IQP 6EC T UIIIIKl1 I by Russ Myers B65 Some years ago it was discovered that the majority of code • reconstruction problems could be serviced by a general-purpose package of programs This discovery led to the development of the Bookbreaker's Package which in its Version 1 fulfills the analyst's minimum initial machine run requirements The package • designed in C53 now G46 in close cooperation with bookbreakers from G parallels Swift's Standa d and Techniques of Code Recon- • st uction Its Version 1 provides a standard bookbreaker's index a beginnings sort an endings sort a decoded vertical message • print a message header log and listings of all recovered code groups residing in the code meaning file in inverse frequency order decode order line-page order and encode order There also exists a Version 2 which permits the updating of message and meaning files and a Version 3 which provides for a Decoded Bookbreaker's Index the meaning for a code group when available • in the meaning file is substituted for all occurrences of that code group in indexed text A more recent programming effort by Mr Bill Davis of B209 for bookbreakers of Chinese-lanquaqe codes produced the Text Index orocedure At the direction of Ms Minnie Kenny B4 TOLA a procedure has now been developed to combine the best features of both the Text Index procedure and Version 1 of the Bookbreaker s Package Mr Mike Fresty formerly a Data Systems Intern in B65 and now permanently assigned to G46 was selected by Ms Kenny to provide the IBM370 JCL and POGOL language changes necessary to link the two procedures Although the procedure was originally prepared to assist B21 bookbreakers it can be used with little modification for any tetronomic code whose messages are resident in an AG-22 STRUM data base 31 4'8P 813€ RE'I U IBR i - - - -- - - -- - - - - -- - - - - - ·• -4• 1- I Essentially the new procedure has all features of Text Index up to the creation of horizontal message prints These are stored on an intermediate disk file in a format compatible to that required by the Bookbreaker's Package A call is then made to the Bookbreaker's Package to produce all Version l outputs The procedure has been setup to run via COPE RJEr however it should be noted that when a significant volume of data is involved the procedure should be run at the IBM370 mainframe In its present form the procedure will not allow the user to selectively produce output options of the Version 1 Bookbreaker's Package however relatively minor changes i e insertion of dummy cards could accommodate such a requirement Additionally the SPECOL language selection criteria composed by the user must be such that he can assure a run against a homogeneous set of data The most readily available retrieval fields are date case notation and cryptosystem title For full effectiveness when discriminating among cryptosystems the user should assure that either a front-end weighting routine is used or that the specific cryptosystem title is inserted in the appropriate field through data base file maintenance For additional information on this new procedure contact Ms Kenny of the B4 Technical Directorate room 7Al44 5414s TD QUOTES - I eem ha 2 3 06 he people we hiJr e in hi6 Agency aJr e o LhJr ow Jtoadbtoc in he way 06 plLogJtu --- G S 32 _______ 0P StJORtltf UMBRA 1 SEEDLING I ij ----SEEK THE BIZARRE SOLUTION Are you thinking about better ways to do your job Are you frustrated because your good idea would require too many others to cha ge their ways Are you tired of doing it by hand when the machine could and should do it faster The Technical Directors want your ideas on how B can work together to do the job better No suggestion for improvement is too outlandish or bizarre to consider Call us LANGUAGE be submitted Necessary diagrams or drawings should be included The purpose of the contest is to recognize professional accomplishment and to foster documentation of new and or important ideas in cryptomathematics At the annual CMI banauet prizes of $100 $50 and $25 will be awarded in accordance with the recommendations of the panel of judges All entries submitted will be considered for publication in the NSA T chnical Jou nal All NSA employees including non-members of the CMI are eligible to enter the contest In addition any member of the CMI who is not an NSA employee may also enter Papers may be submitted on behalf of their authors providing the author is eligible and consents Any writing on cryptology or a significantly related topic may be entered Security classifications are permissible Compartmented papers will not be accepted hut any techniques or ideas originating in compartmented - 5414s _ 5978s CRYPTANALYSIS TRAFFIC ANALYSIS - 5978s AUTOMATED SYSTEMS - 5007s --- ANNOUNCEMENTS OF CMI AND CLA ESSAY CONTESTS CMI ESSAY CONTEST - RULES SLIGHTLY REViSED Papers are now being accepted for the 15th annual CMI Essay Contest All entries should be submitted to Miss Judy Bennett G4 3All4 extension 3109 no later than March 29 Typewritten manuscripts are preferred and three copies should 33 _ __ llllllll ------- --- _ _ _ __ _ z _ _ _ _ _ • - r41 problems may be reduced to a noncompartmented level All NSA Technical Jou nal articles of the current contest year will be automatically considered as entries Papers published outside NSA are also acceptable as entries Authors may wish to perform some revision or addition to make the relevance of the subject to cryptology or related topic more explicit If such relevance to cryptology is not or cannot be supplied judges may use its absence as a primary reason for eliminating the paper from further consideration The CMI will select the panel of judges whose names will be announced when all papers have been submitted Judges of the contest are not eligible to enter Criteria for judging are a Relevance to mathematics and cryptology b Significance of the content to Agency operations c Interest of the paper to Agency professionals d Quality of the writing CLA ESSAY CONTEST The eighth annual essay contest of the NSA CryptoLinguistic Association is now open and papers will be accepted until March 15th 1974 The purpose of the contest is to encourage writing on topics concerning the application of linguistic knowledge to the solution of Agencyrelated problems so that organized information can be disseminated among professionals in this field At the spring meeting of the CLA prizes of $100 $50 and $25 will be awarded in accordance with the recommendations of the panel of judges All entries submitted will be considered for publication in the NSA Technical Jou nal Any NSA employee regardless of his membership in the CLA is eligible to enter the contest In addition any member of the CLA who is not an NSA employee may enter Papers may be submitted by others on behalf of their authors provided the author is eligible and consents Judges however are not eligible Any writing on cryptology or a significantly related topic may be entered Security classifications up to and including TSC are permissible but techniques and ideas originating in compartmented problems must be reduced to a noncompartmented level All NSA Technicdt Jou nat articles of the cur- rent contest vear will be automatically-considered as entries unless they have been considered in a previous contest Typewritten manuscripts are preferred and three copies should be submitted Necessary diagrams or drawings in finished form should be included 34 'f0P BBOH'f UMBR Jt Papers should be submitted to Mrs Constance H Grisard G94 Room 2S010 Operations Building #1 extension 4812s The CLA will select a panel of judges whose names will be announced when all the papers are in Criteria for judging are a Relevance to cryptology of the subject and treatment b Interest of the paper to Agency professionals and c Style of writing Papers published elsewhere outside NSA or in the NSA T chnical Jou nal are acceptable as entries Authors may wish to perform some revision or addition to make the relevance of the subject to cryptology or related topic quite explicit it may not have been necessary or possible to do so in the original publication References to the areas where the problem occurs or where the ideas can be applied may well be incorporated into contest submissions so that judges and other readers do not have to supply this pertinent information If such relevance to cryptology is not or cannot be supplied judges may use its absence as a primary reason for eliminating the paper from further consideration Compartmented papers will not be accepted and any work which because of its length would not be suitable for publication in the NSA Technical Jou nat will not be accepted ----Have you tried CANOE It's out of sight You should see what Russ Myers and cohorts in B65 are doing in the way of interactive C A applications Why don't you call him and get a _demonstration That's 3447s ----LANGUAGE TESTING SYMPOSIUM 13 14 March 1974 Immediately preceding the Georgetown Roundtable New South Faculty Lounge Georgetown University Washington D C Sponsored by member of the United States Government Interagency Language Roundtable Foreign Service Institute of the Department of Defense Office of Education of the Department of Health Education and Welfare Central Intelligence Agency National Security Agency the Center for Applied Linguistics and the commission on Tests and Testing of the International Association of Applied Linguistics AILA Purpose To explore problem areas of testing language proficiency as it relates to the use of foreign languages on the job Among the topics of discussion will be the oral interview test remote testing of speaking proficiency cloze testing reduced redundancy testing criterionreferenced testing and subjective vs objective language 35 'f0P 880Rm UMBR - - _ ' 1111 9 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ tests During each of the four sessions of the symposium two or three presentations will be made Each presentation will be discussed in detail by a panel of invited participants The public is cordially invited If you would be interested in attending please fill out the registration form and return it by 22 February 1974 There is no charge for registration A complete program will be sent by l March All arrangements for lodging and meals will be the responsibility of each individual Information about hotels and motels in the Georgetown area will be sent on request Registration form should include Name Address Country and Institution Please indicate if you need hotel information or further information about the Georgetown Roundtable Return completed forms to LANGUAGE TESTING SYMPOSIUM P O Box 9569 Rosslyn Station Arlington Va 22209 ----Did you know that copies of Communist Propaganda Highlights prepared by the Psychological Warfare Research Intelligence Division are now available in the B Language Media Center Room 3S078 See George Sing ext 5309s 5310s ----Future CMI Lectures 7 March 1974 - Mr E Speigelthal Rlll Representation of Integers - A Linguistic Problem 4 April 1974 - Prof s Kullhack George Washington University Contingency Table Analysis 2 May 1974 - ur N Zierler IDA A Computational Problem in Finite Fields 17 May 1974 -Prof J Tukey Princeton Bell Telephone Lab Topic to be announced 6 June 1974 -Mr T Evans Pl Topic to be announced ----c announces a new programming system for the CDC 7600 and IBM 370 computers The programming system is BETA This is a tool expressly designed to aid analysts in solving their cryptologic problems Many Agency personnel are using earlier versions of BETA on IBM and BURROUGHS equipments They find it to be extremely useful in their work With BETA available on _ BURROUGHS CDC IBM and soon UNIVAC computers Agency analysts now havG a variety of hardware choices to meet their programming requirements 36 TOP BECR' m' UMBHh --•·- - - cp9p OMJ'f UMBRA ASK THE ORAGON LADY Dear Dragon Lady Mr Glenn's letter of last month raises a valid point concerning insights into the organization and functions of the Central Reunification Committee gleaned from SIGINT during 1958-62 However in contrast to Mr Glenn's suspicion recent plaintext Civil messages reveal that the CRC is still with us alive and well somewhere in North Vietnam and actively involved with South Vietnamese affairs Ms Kennard's basic observations concerning the role of the CRC provoked us to research its current posture We found her equation of the CRC to CP 40 questionable in light of recently consolidated material dating from the early 1950 1 s to the present we are still synthesizing a large volume of SIGINT hoping to determine the CRC's present relationship with the Lao Dong Party COSVN the SVNLA NVN governmental and administrative control of liberated areas in SVN and the like Peter J Melly B614 In the continuing discussion of the linguist's plight the Dragon Lady offers the following in an effort to refute the oft repeated equation that a warm body dictionary Linguist and to explain the Language Analyst's constant quest for the latest most up-to-date reference works The thoughts were excerpted from Wo1td Pta y Alfred A Knopf publisher by Pete Farb an anthropoligical linguist former lecturer in English at Yale University and author of several books • • • In 1 ho1t t e ve 1ty la ngua ge o66e JZ 4 l t4 4pe a ku a n a 1t1ta y 06 4 tlta te g-i u w-i th which they ea n pla y the la nguage game • •• 37 T0P cam - ---------- - ------•-- - --- •-n• 1-L Z•• • _ - 0MBRA te-- '' '- __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ - •- - - · s - ---- Mo1 t people a1 1 ume that a text ln one language c an be acculL ately t4an1 la ted into anothelL language 60 long a6 the t1L an 1ilatoA u1 e 1i a good bilingual dic tionaAy But that i 1i not 1 0 • • Ve1 pite what mo 1it people believe d-i ctlonalL iU do not glve the meanings 06 wo1L d1 Ra the A dlctiona4ie 1i p1L e6ent meanings by 066e1L lng a 6elec tion 06 1iynonymou1 woAd6 and phAa6el - which a Ae them 1ielve1 li1 ted in the d lc t lonaAy The d-i ct-i onaAy thu 1i 11 a c lo6ed 1iy1 tem in wh lch 4omeone inte1L e1 ted in the meaning 06 a WolL d c an go alL ound and alL ound and end up exactly whelL e he 6 taAted 6imply bec au 1ie WolL d6 alL e de 6 lned in teAm6 06 o theA w0Ad 1i and the 1 e ln tuAn aAe de6 lned ln te4m6 06 1 t lll otheA WOIL dl • • The meaning 06 a woAd 1 n the dic tionaAy theAe6oAe l6 not the mean lng at all 1t 1ieAve 1i meAely a6 a IL e m lnde A toha i peake A WHQ ALREADY KNOWS H tS LANGUAGE al glL oWn up - n a 1 peec h c ommun- ty that u6e6 the woAd and who employ1 the h lnt1 ln the d lct lonaAy to make a gue 1 1 at the meaning • •• Finally an adequate dic t lonaAy u1 ually take1 at lea6t a decade to pAe paAe the OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY Aequ i lL ed about 50 yealL 1 and by the time lt ha1 been completed lt l1 the d lctionaAy 06 a changed language 6 lmply bec au6e the mean lng 1i 06 wo1L d 1i do not 1itay the 1iame 6Aom yeaA to yeaA 11 - y capitalization supplied 38 - ··----- - - SOLUTION TO SEPTEMBER'S PUZZLE 0926 9704 1899 7956 9489 0926 2939 8303 1722 1125 1172 7567 4102 5363 7831 2397 9976 4102 1367 3630 0849 4104 2455 6859 9489 1604 4436 3281 7352 5089 7984 0184 0252 1562 1624 3281 9976 2508 0191 6651 5669 5890 4099 1455 073S 4430 1331 6651 4381 1126 1172 7567 9489 1604 4436 3281 2236 0342 1126 1387 2975 4104 2455 6859 9976 2508 0191 6651 2053 0948 4104 4357 3084 1409 2559 4813 0156 2326 0187 1126 1172 7567 9390 7352 2585 0031 5030 2429 0553 4907 2837 4104 2455 6859 9975 5669 5089 5472 0103 2851 1126 4224 0324 0252 9725 9372 1551 0019 5890 0006 0008 0681 4104 1748 1709 0735 7364 2706 0668 0110 8718 8906 7984 0184 9489 1562 1624 5472 0103 2851 1126 1624 5261 3945 4099 1455 9976 4430 1331 0006 0008 0681 4104 1331 4858 1551·0019 8718 8906 8303 3181 9390 2911 3351 8169 7771 3175 0668 0110 5261 3945 3630 6158 9975 0448 3938 5887 2398 7154 3874 9489 1326 0771 2057 8169 5455 2780 9725 9372 9489 0500 6852 9976 1730 0455 2236 5887 0001 4467 7364 2706 9976 5455 2780 1624 4858 9489 4687 1393 1539 5455 2780 9725 9372 0001 4467 1331 3175 9976 4391 2972 0659 0001 4467 7364 2706 9489 1539 5455 2780 1624 4858 9489 2236 0015 4143 5321 3084 9976 0659 0001 4467 1331 3175 9976 2053 0226 6126 3634 2585 6450 6317 1870 7352 5089 0252 2780 1624 1126 7984 0184 9390 2589 1364 2456 5669 5890 0735 4467 1331 4104 4099 1455 9975 7352 5089 0252 2780 1624 0120 1126 1604 5470 4656 9514 9489 5669 5890 0735 4467 1331 0022 4104 2508 7236 0795 7344 9976 2210 7651 3276 7761 7352 5089 2072 2780 1624 2072 1126 8718 2019 3981 6639 6665 5669 5890 3954 4467 1331 3954 4104 5261 8906 7742 3181 0157 6629 4274 9489 3276 7761 7352 5089 0252 3945 6062 6158 0637 6043 3082 9976 6639 6665 5669 5890 0735 2780 1624 1126 4670 1779 0157 6629 4274 9489 8940 0103 2210 4467 1331 4104 1395 6432 0637 6043 3082 9976 5079 0008 2019 Continued next page 39 'fOP BHCRE'f UMBR - - - - - - - __ 7651 5011 2724 2988 0426 1126 1172 4814 0157 6629 4274 9390 3981 2231 0648 4675 0830 4104 2455 3127 0637 6043 3082 9975 PLAYFAIR SQUARE 00 02 03 09 10 20 21 35 36 54 01 04 08 11 19 22 34 37 53 55 05 07 12 18 23 33 38 52 56 71 06 13 17 24 32 39 51 57 70 72 14 16 25 31 40 so 58 69 73 84 15 26 30 41 49 59 68 74 83 85 27 29 42 48 60 67 75 82 86 93 28 44 45 43 46 63 47 62 64 61 65 78 66 76 81 87 92 94 77 80 88 91 95 98 79 89 90 96 97 99 TD QUIPS Any tA me you le t the 6 hape o 6 the ve 66e l de te m lne the con tent 6 you ARE ln tlt ouble -- H G 40 l'QP StiORJR UMBR z CONTRIBUTORS MORRIS L I LEROY FERGUSON 843 ca me to NSA ln Vec embe1t 1963 a 6teA a thAee-yeaJt touJt in the A Amy He woJt ked ln AS unt ll 1970 when he enteAed the CAypta na ly6i 6 InteAn pAogJt am LeAoy gAaduated 6Aom the lnteAn pAogAa m -in Vec embeA 1973 a-6 a c eAti6-led cAyptanaly4t and wa-6 a-64-lgned to 843 He -l-6 c uAAently attending MA Catt lmaho-6 1 6 CA 400 c la66 TOM GLENN Chie6 861 ha4 a total 06 15 yeaA ' expe1t-lence with ASA nd NSA on the Vietname4e pJt oble m He l4 a p1t 06e4 6-lonal Spec al Re 6ea1tc h Analy4t and Vietname 6e tingui 6t who ha-6 al6o 4tud led Chine 6e and FAenc h on hi4 own MJt Glenn ha-6 6eAved a-6 the ChaiJt man 06 the Vietname 6e Language PJt o6e44ional-lzat-lon Exam-lnation Committee A 44-lgned to Vietnam in 1962-65 196168 and 1969 he ha-6 been involved in tJt a66ic analy 6i 6 Ayptl-lngui 6t-lc 6 intelligence analy-6-l 6 and mo 6t 4 lgn-l6-lc antly n the management 06 the S1G1NT 1tep0Jt ting e 601tt on the Vietnam waA Zn VecembeA 1913 M1t Glenn Jt ece-lved h-l-6 M A ln GoveJt nme t at GeoAge ·wa6hington Unive1t 6ity WALTER W JACOBS Jt etilted a-6 COMMANVANT National C1typtotogic Sc hoot in Oc tobe A 1969 to jo-ln the 6ac ulty 06 The AmeAican UniveJt -6-lty He 6e1tved a ti Cha lJt man VepaJt t ment 06 Mathema tic -6 and Stati 6tic 4 6Jt om June 1910 to June 1913 and i4 at pJt e4ent heading the Compute IL Science pAogJt am at the UniveJt ti ity VJt Jac ob-6 c omment-6 What a gJteat place the Agency i ti -- an unu 6ual gJtoup 06 people with out 6ta nding ab il-lty ded icat ion talen t-6 and vaJtiety 06 inteJte ti t-6 -- theAe'-6 no thing like it on the out6-lde FoA the pa tit two tiummeJt 6 VJt Jacob-6 taught an advanced p1tog1tamm ing technique ti c ouJt4e at NSA and hope-6 to te ac h 6oJt the Agency again thi ti 6umme Jt A6teJt OJt Jae ob ti eaJtned hi-6 PhO in Mathematic al StatL 6tic ti at the GeoJtge Wa 6hington UniveJt-6 ity he had M ll-ltaJty SeJtv ice duJt ing WoJtld WaJt 11 in the 066 ic e 06 the Chie6 Signal 066 iceJt OCSigO at Jtl-lngton Hatt and Bletc hley PaJtk England Late JI he 4eJtved -ln key civ il-la n po tii tion-6 involving ma thema t ic 4 in the USAF ln the R6V 01tgan ization 06 NSA and a ti Ch-le6 06 the NSA Machine 0Jtganiza tion then C4 6Jtom 1961-1963 RUSS MYERS 865 joined the Agency in 1965 a teJt tieJt v-lng 6ou1t yea Ji ti with the USAFSS F i6teen month6 06 hi ti AiJt FoJtc e touJt welLe 6pent at Puhawa11 Paki 6tan one 06 the ga1t den 6pot 6 06 the wo1tld A t NSA he 6pe n t two yeaJt-6 in A8 a-6 a tlta 6 6ic a naly-6 t and Ru-6 ti ian lingui tit and then wa4 6elec ted 601t Cla 64 10 06 CY100 He moved to 81203 now B65031 in 1968 a4 a 41 OP SBOH'f- UMBR A -·-- ------- ------ • '3 0P 84' ORE UMBRA EO 3 3b 3 PL 86-36 50 USC 3605 ClaH 4 o6··CA-400 • 'lo c Jr ypta nalyi t MJr MyeJr 4 wai a membe1t 06 and wa 4 detailed 601t i ix month4 to B42 unde •the B I teltnat Va ta Sy6tem6 T1ta-lning P1Log1tam He hold4 Ao6e44-lonat c e1tt-l6-lcation in tJr a 66-lc analy6-l6 Clt J analy6i6 anp· c ompute1t 4y6tem4 analy6l4 a6 well a4•a SA ln Gove1tM1ent o nd Polit-lu 611 om the Unive11 6lty o 6• Mo 4yland M4 Myor 6 i4 cuJr Jr ently involved -ln the dev£ opment and manage e t 06 6eve1tal data p1toce66-ln9 p1Lp1ect6 604 B65 p1toblem -a ea 6 EVWARV A O'CONNOR 6e1tved ith the AiJr FoJr ce Secu1t-lty SMvice a6te1t 4ec e-lv lng a Bac h toJr 06 AJr t6 deg4ee 01tom Rhodi 6land College in 1966 He•Joined NSA in May 1970 a 6 a T4a66ic Analytic Tec hnic -l n•and ln 1911 he Wa4 6elected 6oJr an· -lnte1tn6h-lp by t T1ta66ic Analy6-l4 CaJr eelt Panel CuJr Jr intly M1t O'Conno1ti t a membu 06 UNCOAST • 0 • • WILLIAM ST VtRS ha4 been with NSA 4even yea1t6 the la t iwo 06 whi h he ha 6 4pent a6 a CA lnteJr n P1t-lo1t to olh-lna the Jnte1tn p1tog1tam he wa4 a46igned to thel • t JwheJr e he gained expe1tience in 6ignal4 analy4 4 a 6 w-ell a 4 c 1typtanaty4i6 He ac quiJr ed an inteJr e6t in p1tog1tamm-lng a 6 an analytical tool du1ting Intelln tou1t6 which 1tequiJr ed a p1togJr ammell analy6t B-lll bel-leve4 in doing th-lng4 the haJr d way and ac c 01tdingty 6 attend-lng Tow6on State Evtning School whe1te he -l6 a JunioJt • LEO C STEPP 6632 joined NSA -ln 196S He ho 6 been -lnvo ved w-lth the Vietname4e Commun-l6t p1tobtem almoht all 06 h-lh Agency ii6e F1tom July 1912 to June 1913 M1t Stepp 6e1tved a6 the Sen-lo1t U S COMINT 066iceA and Adv-l601t to the South V-lethame6e Special SecuA-lty Technical BAanch in MR ZV Can Tho SVNi He i4 cuJr Aen tty a64i9ned to B632 a4 a membe 06 a team 4l4pon6-lble 6oA ' ' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - JACK THOMAS 844 co me to NSA ah a CIVOP in 1956 aftte a 3-yealt tou4 in the A1tmy Sec uA-lty Agency He holu a deg1tee with a majolt in Engli4h In addition to hi6 initial Agency a66ignment a4 a CIVOP at He1tzo Ba 6e Ge1tmany he ha4 wo1tked in p4edece660A W o4gan-lzation6 at the Paci6-lc Expe1timentat Facility in Japan and 6ince 1966 in 84 He -l6 now on a Hi6toAy Fellowi h-lp with the National CAyptoiogic School PAe66 and ha4 4ecently been appointed to the Ed-lto4ial BoaJr d Oft the C4yptolog-lc Spect4um 42 '1OP SEOR Jf UMIJBh - - - ·- - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - T-QP iECRlsf UAl8RA IT'S ClASSIPIED l f l l •·- •• --IIIIL lb_____ e · -· a- - --