Do you ever think about how secure your passwords are? Well, imagine if the US nuclear arsenal was as vulnerable as your cat’s name followed by the number “1.” During the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the security of the nuclear codes was a major concern.
One Harvard academic proposed a unique solution in the 1980s – embedding the nuclear codes into the chest of a colleague of the president. To launch a nuclear missile, the president would have to physically stab the codes out. This bizarre concept was described in a piece by Roger Fisher in 1981.
Fisher’s idea was met with mixed reactions, with some Pentagon officials concerned that the president having to kill someone to launch a nuclear strike would distort their judgment. As a result, more conventional safeguards were put in place, such as requiring multiple personnel with authorization from the president to launch a strike.
Despite efforts to enhance security, there were claims that the Strategic Air Command (SAC) set the launch codes to all zeros to expedite the launch process during the Cold War. This practice, according to former launch officer Bruce Blair, remained in place for years despite denials from the US Air Force.
Ultimately, a more robust system was implemented in 1977 to prevent unauthorized nuclear launches. While the idea of using all zeros as launch codes may seem alarming, no unauthorized nuclear missiles were launched during this time. The importance of secure nuclear safeguards cannot be understated, especially in a time of heightened tensions and global uncertainties.
