Signals Intelligence in War and Power Politics, 1914–2010

Abstract

This article discusses signals intelligence in war and power politics. Signals intelligence is the most secretive and significant source of intelligence. It has many parts such as: the elint (electronic intelligence) which derives information from assessing electronic emissions and the communication intelligence which derives information from reading encrypted messages. Signal intelligence is relevant as it is highly reliable. Aside from its reliability, like other forms of intelligence, signal intelligence aids in the proper execution of policies, aids developing military tactics, and influences diplomatic bargaining. In this article, discussions include: the emergence of signals intelligence; open diplomacy and diplomatic codebreaking; Ultra and Enigma signals intelligence and the industrialization of signals intelligence through the introduction of computers that specializes in cryptology.