<P> A major weakness of the system , however , was that no letter could be enciphered to itself . This meant that some possible solutions could quickly be eliminated because of the same letter appearing in the same place in both the ciphertext and the putative piece of plaintext . Comparing the possible plaintext Keine besonderen Ereignisse ( literally , `` no special occurrences '' -- perhaps better translated as `` nothing to report '' ) , with a section of ciphertext , might produce the following : </P>
<P> A major weakness of the system , however , was that no letter could be enciphered to itself . This meant that some possible solutions could quickly be eliminated because of the same letter appearing in the same place in both the ciphertext and the putative piece of plaintext . Comparing the possible plaintext Keine besonderen Ereignisse ( literally , `` no special occurrences '' -- perhaps better translated as `` nothing to report '' ) , with a section of ciphertext , might produce the following : </P>
what was the main weakness of the enigma machine
what was the main weakness of the enigma machine
no letter could be enciphered to itself
no letter could be enciphered to itself