GoKawiilCarter Leffer uses OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra to crack 1941 Enigma message unsolved since 2005
Researcher Carter Leffer submitted a decryption of the German Army Enigma message MVUEH, sent 10 July 1941 and logged by an SS-Totenkopf radio unit, which had remained unbroken since 2005. The AI-assisted break, using OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra, revealed a completely different key setup—including a different wheel order—than other messages from that day, yet produced plaintext nearly identical to a previously solved message, Nr. 173 (SIPVX). Analysis of the newly recovered key also uncovered transcription errors in the original ciphertext and pinpointed the exact letter at which the Enigma machine's left wheel turned over.
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This marks a notable case of AI directly contributing to historical cryptographic research, succeeding where human codebreakers failed for over two decades. It demonstrates how large language models can now assist in solving complex combinatorial and linguistic puzzles once considered the domain of specialized human expertise, potentially accelerating archival and historical cryptanalysis work more broadly.
- OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra helped break a WWII Enigma message unresolved since 2005.
- The message shared nearly identical plaintext with a previously solved 2017 break despite a different Enigma key and wheel order.
- The breakthrough also exposed transcription errors and confirmed a specific Enigma wheel turnover point.
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Published there as: “OpenAI GPT–6 Astra breaks Enigma message that has resisted solution since 2005”
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