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1. As far as smart meters go, FIRE is more of a realistic threat. I see nothing else that is of any concern. The only way I see to counter the very real and documented fire concern is to not have it mounted on the house but maybe on a pole several feet away.

2. Huh! it’s funny you mentioned crypto, while in the Army years ago as a radio teletype operator we used electric teletype machines and a crypto machine. this machine was re-keyed every day. But I learned recently on a Bletchley park movie, that one way they they broke the codes, was the standard used in training radio operators to giving thier call signs and greetings. in the clear was the same on the pre-emble of any encrypted message. Well something struck me recently that standard operating proceedure for U.S. Army radio teletype operators was using 5 line feeds, 2 carriage returns and 5 spaces to start a fresh message. Thus clearing any possible messages left on the receiving stations page printer. We knew there was the chance that our codes were broken within 23 hours so they were all changed every 24 hours. Well I used to tell my guys to change that habitual start up just to keep the decoders guessing. our message format was standard 16 line format. so the format of a message can be guessed at too, by the crypto annalist. It kind of makes you wonder will we ever learn, that habitual practices can always cause quicker decryption by the enemy.

3. A Response to Going Analog, by M.G. is of great interest to, I suspect, those few of us who are interested in arcane Security trivia.

   Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber, used two manual typewriters which helped to positively identify him when law enforcement closed in.

   The article doesn’t mention it, but the I.B.M Selectric Magnetic Tape Composer used toroidal cores as memory. These devices retain their state even when the machine is turned off, thus making it possible to read whatever was recently typed, even if no mag tape is present.

   As for using an Uninterrupted Power Supply, it might be more secure to simply use a battery with an inverter to power an electric typewriter. This would eliminate any concerns about Smart Electric Meters.

   Everybody is aware that computer memory is easy to read by anyone who gets a hold of it. But nowadays, many devices have memory. Lately there have been several cases where printer memory has been used to convict law breakers. We all leave a larger footprint than we might imagine.

4. Thanks for this enlightening and thorough information about the Selectric, which was always my favorite typewriter. And you’re right; I didn’t understand a good part of it.

5. When I was with a District Attorney’s office we caught a lawyer who was forging real estate papers by running a search warrant and seizing the single strike ribbons from his Selectric typewriters. Every word of the forgery was there, as well as documents showing an intent to influence a Federal investigation.

6. Then there’s the tried and true method of hand encryption, that can change at a moment’s notice as directed. Bottom line, never do the same thing twice, change it up. Never travel the same routes, use alternate methods. When in doubt, change it again. Avoid predictable patterns at all cost. Communication, travel, operations orders, it all needs flexibility.

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