codewords
Spy communication vocabulary
Codewords are words or phrases with secret meanings known only to certain people.
Spies use codewords to conceal information; the codeword for the operation was "Neptune".
More loosely, codewords are terms that signal shared understanding within a group—political codewords like "family values" or "law and order" communicate specific positions to those attuned to them while seeming innocuous to others.
Hidden writing system
- signalMessage-conveying cue
- dead-dropCovert message transfer location
- passphraseAuthentication word sequence
- sleeperOne at rest
operative · handler · tradecraft · counterintelligence · covert · infiltrate · moles · asset
Hidden writing system
- algorithmFinite problem-solving procedure
- decryptionConverting ciphertext to plaintext
- encryptionConverting data into code
- keyLock-opening device
hash · AES · RSA · cryptanalysis · plaintext · ciphertext · substitution · transposition
Message-conveying cue
- passphraseAuthentication word sequence
- keywordIndexed lookup term
- callsignBroadcast identification code
- shorthandAbbreviated writing system
jargon · slang · argot · cant · euphemism · innuendo · in-group · shibboleth
Transformed into cipher
- hiddenKept out of sight
- confidentialMeant to stay secret
- classifiedRestricted from disclosure
- veiledConcealed or obscured
disguised · obscured · covert · private · hush-hush · cloak-and-dagger · need-to-know · compartmentalized
cipher
Hidden writing system
- signalMessage-conveying cue
- dead-dropCovert message transfer location
- passphraseAuthentication word sequence
sleeper · operative · handler · tradecraft · counterintelligence · covert · infiltrate · moles · asset · reconnaissance
cipher
Hidden writing system
- algorithmFinite problem-solving procedure
- decryptionConverting ciphertext to plaintext
- encryptionConverting data into code
key · hash · AES · RSA · cryptanalysis · plaintext · ciphertext · substitution · transposition · Enigma
signal
Message-conveying cue
- passphraseAuthentication word sequence
- keywordIndexed lookup term
- callsignBroadcast identification code
shorthand · jargon · slang · argot · cant · euphemism · innuendo · in-group · shibboleth · lingo
encrypted
Transformed into cipher
- hiddenKept out of sight
- confidentialMeant to stay secret
- classifiedRestricted from disclosure
veiled · disguised · obscured · covert · private · hush-hush · cloak-and-dagger · need-to-know · compartmentalized · redacted
password
Authentication string
hint · guess · team · round · buzzer · timer · category · partner · mastermind
- data compression
- espionagespy, spies, double agent, double agents, spying
- codes & cipherscryptanalysis, encryption, substitution, transposition, enigma
- Code puzzlesMastermind, cryptograms
- war mobilizationmobilization, troop mobilization, military draft, selective service, mobilization orders
codewordsplain speech
Unembellished verbal expression
plain language · clear text · plaintext · open communication · plain text
codewordseveryday language
Ordinary spoken communication
shared vocabulary · accessible language · layman's terms · vernacular