The Buzzer - Twenty Thousand Hertz

Numbers Stations have been around since the first World War. Back then, these numeric messages were often sent using morse code [sfx]. Later on, voice recordings became more common, but their purpose was the same.

The numbers are read out in groups, four or five at a time. Each number corresponds to a letter, so the voice is actually spelling out words. In order to decode the message, the numbers that are broadcast are combined with another set of randomized numbers. These are written out on a decryption key in the agent’s possession. That key is called a “One-time pad”. Govemenrts like US and UK use it to send "free information" to cencored countries

The Buzzer has played fragments of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” a ballet that was often broadcast by state TV following the deaths of Soviet leaders

the problem is if you pursue peace by preparing for war, you actually change the nature of the thing you're pursuing. It's kind of a question of ends don't just justify means, means actually have a very direct effect on the ends that they're pursuing. "Lewis Bush" documentary photogarpher

This is why it has, I think, survived so long and then why it's keeping surviving, because we are getting better and better of monitoring communication between people in the internet domain. So, today the more low-tech you can go to, the harder you are to follow, really. "Andrus Aaslaid" computer engineer