"Fais-moi confiance", he said

Hello again Dear Reader. In today's post, I thought I would recount a small job I completed last week for a legal Client, on behalf of lawyers for an investment firm abroad.

What started out as a relatively banal case has turned into something quite interesting - with overtures of international fraud and money laundering.

But it all started with a routine tracing enquiry.

Nothing To See Here: The One-Time Pad

Today, Tovarich, we are going to learn how to use a One-Time Pad (or OTP) to encrypt, or decrypt, secret communications. This system is essentially unbreakable so long as it is only used ONCE - hence the name.

While not exactly part of a regular PI's toolbox, it may be of possible interest to budding spies.

You will need:

1. Some paper
2. A pencil
3. State secrets