About Operation Tinker Bell and the Cryptologic Challenge March 17, 1964. KGB Colonel Alexander
Rogozin contacts the U.S. Embassy to Turkey. CIA officer
Robert Novak from the Soviet and Eastern Europe Division
is sent to Ankara to meet Rogozin. Novaks
assessment: Rogozin is disillusioned in the Soviet
political system, his military career and his marriage.
He wants to defect to the United States and his knowledge
of communications technology and cryptology could be
valuable to U.S. intelligence. Both CIAs new Science &
Technology Directorate and the National Security Agency
(NSA) are most interested. Novak is assigned to Colonel
Rogozin as his case officer and CIA headquarters in
Langley designates codename GYMNAST to the defector. Novak persuades Rogozin to return to
Moscow, assume his normal duties and collect additional
intelligence before defecting in the near future.
Rogozins contact person in Moscow is Roman Danilov,
a CIA operative under the cover of UP journalist,
attached to the U.S. embassy to Moscow. A first secret
meeting between Danilov and Colonel Rogozin is scheduled
on April 5. On the
day of the meeting, Danilov leaves his apartment at
Povarskaya street 29 at 11:35 hours Moscow time. The next
morning at 08:15 local time (00:15 in Langley) CIA
station Moscow reports to its headquarters in Langley
over secure channels that Danilov failed to report after
his meeting with Rogozin. The subsequent investigation confirms
that Roman Danilov disappeared. Theres no word of
KGB Colonel Rogozin. The defector turns out to be dangle,
a bait to identify CIA agents, or a KGB staged
recruitment that went horrible wrong. That same morning,
Danilov is officially reported missing. Bill Hensley, the head of CIAs
Soviet Division, is furious about the loss of his
operative and Robert Novak is ordered to track down Rogozin
by any means available. Operation Tinker Bell, the search
for the false KGB defector, has begun. Your Task You are assigned to Operation Tinker
Bell as COMSEC Officer. It is your task to decrypt all
message traffic, sent between Langley, it's stations
abroad and agents in the field. This sounds harder than
it actually is. All required crypto tools, keys and clear
instructions are provided. If you can type on a keyboard,
you can decrypt the messages. To get a good view of the operation, we
advise you to keep a record of all decrypts and
investigate all information like places, services and
units that you find in the messages. Also check the small
red info buttons underneath
photos for additional information. Some buttons provide
translation for non-English webpages. Start
by visiting the COMCEN to update your
knowledge of how Langley and its stations abroad
communicate with each other and with agents in the field,
both by cable and by clandestine radio transmissions. You
will also learn to use 1960s state-of-the-art crypto
equipment and manual one-time pads to decrypt clandestine
message traffic, related to your assigned case. Next, examine all Case Files to familiarize yourself with all the people
involved. It is important to know all code names and
agent ID's, which are used in all communications. All
relevant intel is available in the Comms Registry Section. To decrypt the messages, you must retrieve the
appropriate keys or one-time pads in the Crypto Room. You will experience spy tradecraft
first-hand. CIA transmitter sites in West Germany,
illegal border crossings, fake passports, safe houses,
the dreaded East-German Stasi and Czech StB secret
police. British intelligence helps to arrange clandestine
meetings, the U.S. Army Security Agency provides SIGINT
support and some USMLM operations don't take the rules of
engagement too seriously. The Cold War at its best, with
authentic details, many historical photos, and as real as
it gets. Submit Your Decrypted Messages Once you have decrypted all messages, send an e-mail with your name, country, and all the solutions
as .txt file. If you successfully solved the operation,
your name will only be engraved in the Wall of Honor, as
we obviously cannot disclose your identity or the
operation to the public. If you have questions or
comments regarding your mission, then contact us. Copyright Notice The content of Operation Tinker Bell is
protected by international copyright laws. The
publishing, copying, or redistribution of the encrypted
messages or their plaintext versions, in digital,
printed, or any other form is not allowed. Disclaimer Operation Tinker Bell is a cryptologic
spy adventure, based on historical information about
intelligence agencies and their modus operandi. The
operation, all messages and most of the characters
involved are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons
or operations is purely coincidental. Some well-known
historical figures and all images are used only to
support the fictional story. The game and its content are
not intended to endorse or condemn the views or actions
of any person, organization or country that might appear
in the messages. We can neither
confirm nor deny the existence of this operation
but, hypothetically, if such
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