13. Code or Cipher?

In this bonus episode, we resolve some of your biggest questions with Fred Fine and Codemaster Cole. This episode can be listened to whether you're new to the show or you've been listening since the start. We cover about 50 terms and share a new story! A secret of Codemaster Cole's is shared, but he still is less certain that Barnabas should  be replaced as narrator.

This podcast just reached 1k downloads since creation, and it wouldn't have happened without listeners. Thank you for listening.

The background music used in this episode is "Bio Unit", "Pummel", "Cellular", "Philae", "Ambient Warning", and "Lonely Satellite" by Bio Unit, and our theme is "Mosquito" by Caspar Babypants. This episode is very lucky.

 You can find Dr. Gareth's work at drgarethmoore.com. He has released many puzzle and cipher related books for kids, as well as a lot of stuff for adults, too. 

You can find BunnAmigos Podcast wherever you find good podcasts, or under the "Recommendations" tab on our website!

Chapters

• 1:03 Intro
• 3:17 Terms 1-2: Code. . .or Cipher?
• 5:16 Terms 2-3: Transposition & Substitution Ciphers
• 7:18 Terms 3-8: Enciphering, Deciphering, Encoding, Decoding, etc.
• 8:00 Terms 9-16: Code Terms
• 9:26 Terms 17-45: Spy Terms
• 16:05 Story
• 22:18 Terms 46-53: Spy Ring Positions
• 23:32 Outro
• 24:39 Post Show: No Joke

Transcript

Barnabas  01:03
For those who haven't heard any of the episodes of this podcast yet, start here. This episode tells you everything you need to know about what codes are, ciphers are, and all the other code and spy terminology that you might hear on the podcast. Without further ado, start the show.

Barnabas  02:10
Welcome to the kids' code podcast. My name is Barnabas, your host. I have here Steve, my co-host, and a couple of my other friends: Fred Fine, who is a police officer, and Codemaster Cole, the leader of the good spy ring. In this episode we try to resolve some major code questions. What is the difference between a code and a cipher? What is a Transposition cipher, what is a Substitution cipher, and what does deciphered mean? Older listeners might be wondering what this episode numbering is about. It is actually a bonus episode, but it's enough like a full episode that I just put it in as one.

Barnabas  03:17
Let's start with what is probably the biggest question: What is the difference between a code and a cipher? Most people know that they are both ways of hiding messages, but are they even different at all? Well, the answer is yes, but depending on who you ask, the definitions will be different. I can't tell you what the actual definition is, but I can tell you what my sources think. According to The Dangerous Book for Boys by Con and Hal Igulden, "codes are impossible to break without a key or detailed knowledge of the people involved." It also says that "ciphers, on the other hand, are scrambled messages, not a secret language. In a cipher a plaintext message is concealed by replacing the letters according to a pattern."

Steve  04:25
That basically means that a code is something that you need the key to understand, whereas the cipher has a pattern.

Barnabas  04:36
Top Secret, a book by Paul B. Janeczko, has a different definition. It say that "a code is a system where every word or phrase in your message is replaced by another word, phrase, or series of symbols. . .on the other hand, a cipher is a system where every letter of your message is replaced by another letter or symbol."

Fred Fine  05:05
In other words, in a code each word is changed, but in a cipher, each letter is changed.

Barnabas  05:17
Next question: what is a Substitution cipher, what is a Transposition cipher, and what is the difference? Well, according to Top Secret, in a Substitution cipher you substitute one symbol for every letter in a plaintext, whereas, and I quote, "In a Transposition cipher you transpose, or rearrange, the positions of the letters. Substitution and Transposition cipher systems both have their advantages and disadvantages. Substitution ciphers are much easier to break* - did you know that out of a thirty-five letter message there are enough combinations that if one person could check 1 combination per second and if all the people in the world worked 24 hours a day to check it, it would take more than a thousand times the lifetime of the universe to check all the possibilities! But Transposition ciphers aren't as easy to use. You have to agree on a specific combination, which is less secure than having it not as clear, or you don't say and then it could take years for the person to understand it. It is important to know what both systems are and how each operates for codebreaking and other purposes.

Barnabas  07:18
Third question: what do Enciphering, Encoding, and Codemaking mean? They're usually thought to be the same thing and are about both codes and ciphers - the creation side - but actually codemaking and encoding are about codes and enciphering is about ciphers. It works similarly with decoding, deciphering, and codebreaking. Here are a few other terms:

Barnabas  08:00

• Plaintext, which is the message you want to keep secret.
• A Codebook, the place where you keep the key to you codes and ciphers,
• Codebreakers and Cryptanylists are people who break codes,
• Stenography is Greek for "Concealed Writing", the practice of sending concealed messages, not necessarily coded;
• Cryptographer and Cryptography mean a person who makes and breaks codes and the practice of making and breaking codes, which come from a Greek word as well.
• The Key is the answer to how a code or a cipher works;
• A keyword is a word that is used as part of a key to a cipher.

Barnabas  09:25
Now the spy terms.

• A Contact is a member of your spy ring, usually one that you meet by arrangement, and always one that you communicate closely with.
• A Courier is a member of a spy ring who carries and delivers secret messages, information, and instructions to other members.
• Interception is getting told of a message or decoding a message that was left by an enemy. There are other forms of it too - intercepted and intercept.
• An HQ is a shortening of "headquarters", the place, often secret, that a spy ring operates mainly from.
• A Spy Ring itself is group of spies who work together secretly. Almost every spy is in a spy ring.
• An Agent is basically just a spy.
• An Undercover Agent is an agent who is on a mission and is often using a disguise.
• A Double Agent is a spy who is pretending to be a spy for one side but is actually a spy for the other side. Double agents can get confusing.
• A Quarry is a spy who is being followed by another spy.
• A Tail is a spy who is following another spy. A tail follows a quarry.
• Stalking is following a quarry secretly by moving quietly and hiddenly through the countryside, often involving a lot of camouflage.
• Tracking is following the tracks or clues of other kinds left by a quarry to find out where they are.
• Shadowing is following and keeping watch on a quarry in a town while being hidden and not using camouflage.

Fred Fine  12:30

• A Spoof code is letters jumbled up to look like a real code to fool enemy spies. There are also spoof drops and other spoof things. If we make an episode about security, we will talk all about that.

Codemaster Cole  13:01

• The head of a spy ring is called a master spy. He sends out the other spies on missions and tells them what to do. The other spies report to the master spy-like me.

Barnabas  13:25

• A Deep Cover Agent is an agent who is working under permanent cover, or permanently pretending to be someone else.
• Babysitter means bodyguard.
• A Cobbler who fakes Passports, Visas, Diplomas, and other documents.
• Cover has 2 meanings: It can be a secret identity or it can be things you hide behind.
• A Floater is a person who is used occasionally or even unknowingly for an intelligence operation. Think of them as a part time spy.
• A Ghoul is a spy who looks for coverup names for agents, often in cemeteries.
• An Informant is a spy who provides intelligence to the team.
• A Mole is a who penetrates enemy organizations - A little bit of a double agent.
• Target is another name for a quarry. Basically someone being spied on.
• A Trigger is a spy who watches and alerts a team of spies when they see the quarry.
• Blowbacks are unexpected negative consequences of a spy mission.
• A Burn Notice is an official statement from an intelligence agency saying that an individual or group is an unreliable source.
• Chicken Feed is information given by a double agent to the side that they're not really spying for that is true but not important.

Now that we've worked out some of the terms, it's time for the story.

Announcer  16:13
Previously on The Kids' Code Podcast:

(Clip) Steve  16:20
Oh no, he really is a spy!

(Clip) Codemaster Cole  16:25
We'll have to go in through that little door over there.

(Clip) Steve  16:31
Well, It looks like they packed up and left.

Dan  16:34
But look, there's still this piece of paper.

(Clip) Evil Ant  16:40
To the land of barbed wire I have gone.

Dangerous Dave  16:45
I, to take all your things, like your gong.

New Recruit  16:51
I to the place where the shadows creep.

Emily End  16:56
and me, for your secrets in the deep.

(Clip) Steve  17:00
We'd better go. Let's split up and go all 4 of those places.

Al  17:06
I'll take Fred and we'll go back to the prison.

Codemaster Cole  17:13
I'll go to the HQ.

Steve  17:17
I'll go try to protect my gong.

Caw the Crow  17:21
And I'll go to the convention of criminals with Dan.

Barnabas  17:27
Codemaster Cole and Bob Bot had gone to the headquarters. When they first got inside, they didn't notice anything different until they went into the second room and found a peeled and half eaten banana on the table and the lights on.

Bob Bot  17:53
Emily End has got in here already.

Codemaster Cole  17:58
That's bad. She probably has some of our secrets.

Barnabas  18:04
Said Codemaster Cole. They went further and started hearing a faint voice.

Emily End  18:13
They made a satellite shaped like Codemaster Cole's 3rd birthday cake.

Codemaster Cole  18:18
Hey, that's personal information.

Barnabas  18:23
When they came into the room that the voice seemed to be coming from, they found Emily End talking to the Evil Ant and telling him some of the good spy ring's secrets. She didn't see them right away, so they took the chance and took away the machines that she was using and were surrounding her.

Bob Bot  18:57
We have caught you. You are now surrounded.

Barnabas  19:02
Said Bob Bot.

Emily End  19:05
I can't get out!

Barnabas  19:07
Said Emily End.

Codemaster Cole  19:10
Now we just need to get a phone and call Fred and Al.

Barnabas  19:20
Said Codemaster Cole.

Codemaster Cole  19:23
Barnabas, what's there number again?

Barnabas  19:28
618-546-9145.

Codemaster Cole  19:34
Thanks, Barnabas. That really was helpful. And fast. Maybe I'll change my mind about being a bad narrator.

Barnabas  19:48
Thank you. I would like to be called a good narrator. Meanwhile, Fred and Al found the Evil Ant negotiating with one of the prisoners at the prison.

Al  20:11
Now that wasn't as bad as I feared. I thought he would be doing terrible things.

Evil Ant  20:27
I heard you. Wait, you're back already? I thought it would take you longer.

Fred Fine  20:40
Uh oh, he heard us.

Barnabas  20:46
The Evil Ant ran off before they could catch him and was gone.

Al  20:52
Aw, man. I shouldn't have said anything.

Fred Fine  20:59
Whatever. I think we're getting a call.

Barnabas  21:06
Steve hadn't found anything at his house. He looked everywhere, but there was no hint that anyone had been there, so he sat on his couch, and played video games.

Steve  21:27
Well, I guess I'd better wait until someone gets here. And my gong's right here, so I'll probably be okay.

Barnabas  21:38
THE END.

Barnabas  21:46
Well, I hope you liked that story. There are some important positions in a spy ring. You need:

• A Master Spy,
• A Scout, who organizes scouting missions & looks to see if it's safe for the team on missions,
• The Tracker is another name for the trigger, which I've already talked about,
• A Technician,
• A Stealth Master, a small quiet person who can sneak into tight places and generally move around unnoticed,
• and finally, it's good to have a Social Engineer - someone who can easily talk with the suspects & try to gain information from them without being to scared & without giving themselves away.

Steve  23:02
I think we're about done for this episode.

Barnabas  23:08
The sources used in this episode are Top Secret by Paul B. Janeczko, the Explorer Academy Codebreaking Activity Adventure by Dr. Gareth Moore, The Spy's Guidebook by Falcon Travis, Judy Hindley, and others, the Crypto Corner website, The Dangerous Book for Boys  by Con and Hal Igulden,

Emily End  23:40
and The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskovitz.

Steve  23:47
That's all for today.

Barnabas  23:50
Happy New Year, and Keep on Cracking!

Steve  24:09
So, It's the Post Show. I guess I should make some funny joke or something, but I just don't feel like it. Oh well, maybe another time.

*Except for Polyalphabetic Substitution ciphers, but that's another story.