What are numbers stations all about?
The numbers stations are a bit of a mystery. No one is sure why these transmissions on the shortwave radio bands, that are simply long lines of letters or numbers, are read or who they are for. There is a lot of speculation about their use for military purposes. The messages being transmitted by Numbers Stations would not use a form of cryptography as insecure as the Vigenère Square. They would use a more sophisticated method called a “one time pad”, which is named that because each decryption key is only used one time and then it must be destroyed.