Cipher Machine

Cipher Machine in the National Security Context

A definition and brief description of Cipher Machine in relation to national security is as follows:A mechanical device that assists in the production of ciphertext from plaintext and vice versa. In this broad sense, any mechanical aid from a cipher wheel to a supercomputer can qualify as a cipher machine; however, the term is usually reserved for devices that are fairly complex and that operate on mechanical or electromechanical rather than on electronic principles.