GPT-6 Astra Breaks an Old Enigma Message
>A local user gains SYSTEM privileges and can run commands with them. The attack exploits elevated session IDs stored in a log file. The attack is also easy to carry out.
>This is a cyber-attack that uses a local privilege escalation to gain SYSTEM access on Windows systems.
Full article209 words · extracted from schneier.com · click to collapse
This is pretty amazing:
However, the most astonishing thing about this break is that the GPT6 Astra did it entirely on its own. Carter Leffer only directed GPT6 Astra to see if it could break any of the unbroken Enigma messages published on the Crypto Cellar Research web page. After analysing the unbroken messages on the website, it decided that the most promising message was Nr. 172, MVUEH and it also quickly suspected that the plaintext of Nr. 173, SIPVX, might be related to the plaintext of the unbroken MVUEH message. After trying many different approaches, GPT6 Astra focused on using the repeated place name ROSENOW ROSENOW as a crib. After developing the necessary Python and C++ software for an Enigma simulator and an Enigma Bombe, GPT6 Astra started a thorough break with the ROSENOW crib, which in the end resulted in the correct key and plaintext for the MVUEH message being found.
We are still analysing the GPT6 Astra logs to see exactly how it executed the break. And we are discovering amazing details.
More details at the link.
Tags: AI, cryptanalysis, Enigma, history of cryptography
Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.
Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/09/gpt-6-astra-breaks-an-old-enigma-message.html