Zendian problem

The scenario involves 375 radio messages said to have been intercepted on December 23 by the US Army contingent of a United Nations force landed on the fictional island of Zendia in the Pacific Ocean.

The practical exercise reinforces many basic principles, including ways to exploit having a collection of message traffic.

Headers and discriminants are also given for intercepts from the next three days; these may be used for traffic analysis and in determining daily operating procedures.

There are a few small differences in the ciphertext between these sources, with neither being entirely error-free; indeed, some errors were intentional, and dealing with them is part of the learning process.

(The site also provides analysis and partial solutions, which should not be viewed by anyone wishing to learn from working on this exercise.)