GPT-6 Astra Decodes WWII German Radio Message in 10 Hours
A Bloomberg developer used GPT-6 Astra Extra High to decipher a historical German radio message from 1941 that had remained unsolved for decades.
GPT-6 Astra Decodes WWII German Radio Message in 10 Hours
On July 10, 1941, a German soldier used the Enigma machine to encrypt a short message (82 characters). He reported his location in the town of Rosenow and requested instructions for further movement and an immediate radio response. When attempts were made to decrypt it, known cipher keys for that day did not match, and the message was sent to the archive of undecrypted intercepts.
Yesterday, Bloomberg developer Carter Leffen announced that he deciphered this message using GPT-6 Astra Extra High. The model searched historical archives and found an already decrypted message from the same day where the city name "Rosenow" appeared twice. Assuming this term might also appear in the undecrypted text, the model wrote code for cryptanalysis and arrived at the final decoded sequence.
Leffen set the tasks and made decisions throughout the process. Astra also designed the project website, which includes all the code, the history of the decryption, and even a 3D Enigma simulator.
Why it matters
AnalysisThis case highlights the potential of large language models to solve complex historical cryptographic puzzles by combining data analysis, code generation, and logical inference.
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