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American Cryptology during the Cold War - The Black Vault

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Ib) (1)<br />

Ib) (3) -P.L. 86-36<br />

Thus was <strong>the</strong> TEMPEST industry spawned. NSA initiated a jointproject with <strong>the</strong> SCAs,<br />

which in <strong>the</strong> early years discovered problems much more rapidly than it could design<br />

solutions. In 1955 <strong>the</strong> problem of electromagnetic emanations wa~ I<br />

I<br />

IMoreover, <strong>the</strong>re was hard evidence that in this one area <strong>the</strong><br />

Soviets were far ahead of<strong>the</strong> U.s. technologically and that America.'s East Bloc embassies<br />

were all being penetrated. It was a Frankenstein House ofHorrors. 7o<br />

<strong>The</strong> first big breakthrough was by Naval Research Labs, which redesigned <strong>the</strong><br />

offending 131-B2 mixer and called it <strong>the</strong> NRL Mixer. NRL used a technique called lowlevel<br />

ke in , in which <strong>the</strong> ower was lowered to such an extent that a signal previously<br />

heKWcontaine<br />

t IS CIrCUltry, as 1 every crypto device a ter that. song as i;he<br />

communications center used <strong>the</strong> device at <strong>the</strong> suppressed keying mode ra<strong>the</strong>r than at full<br />

power (an unwarranted assumption), it was reasonably well protected. 71<br />

By 1958 NSA was ready with <strong>the</strong> first generally applicable TEMPEST standards, which<br />

were published under JCS authority. Acc9rding to <strong>the</strong> new guidelines, Department of<br />

Defense organizations could not use equipment that would radiate far<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> zone of<br />

control~<br />

INSA published NAG-I, a TEMPEST bible that<br />

established TEMPEST measurement techniques and standards. <strong>The</strong> new rules did not,<br />

however, say anything about when <strong>the</strong> guidelines had to be met, nor did JCS budget<br />

money to fix <strong>the</strong> problem. Funds had to come from <strong>the</strong> individual commands and had to<br />

compete with all o<strong>the</strong>r funding priorities. Recognizing that <strong>the</strong> problem was far from<br />

fixed, USCSB in 1960 established its first and only subcommittee, <strong>the</strong> Special Committee<br />

on Compromising Emanations. 72 But many years would pass before TEMPEST standards<br />

reached general acceptance.<br />

Notes<br />

Ib) (3) -P.L. 86-36<br />

1. NSAlCSS Archives, ACC 6851, CBKI 61.<br />

2. Colin B. Burke, "<strong>The</strong> Machine AgEl Begins at OP-20-G: Or, Don't Do It This Way Again," presentation at <strong>the</strong><br />

1992 Cryptologic History SYrtlposlum, 28 October 1992.<br />

3.1 tTIl~ Secret <strong>War</strong>," in CCH Series IV.V.7.18; Joel Shurkin, Engines of<strong>the</strong> Mind: A History of<br />

<strong>the</strong> Computer(New York: W. W. Norton, 1984).<br />

4. SRH-267.<br />

5. Ibid.<br />

6. Samuel S. Snyder, "<strong>The</strong> Influence ofU.S. Cryptologic Organizations on <strong>the</strong> Digital Computer Industry," SRH<br />

003.<br />

7. Ibid.<br />

IIAN'BLFl VIA 'i'1\LFlfff IlFlYIISLFl eSMm'i' eSfif'fIt6LS"t S'fFlMSd'SU('i'LY<br />

NOT RfjLEASABI E TO FOREI€lN N1r'ffSfO!l:L~<br />

222

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