--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing can stop an enemy from picking…" description: "\"“Nothing can stop an enemy from picking wireless messages out of the free air - and nothing did.”\" — Barbara Tuchman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/barbara-tuchman-3945_espionage_nothing-can-stop-an-enemy-from-picking-w_1360506.png" --- # Nothing can stop an enemy from picking wireless messages… ![“Nothing can stop an enemy from picking wireless messages out of the free air - and nothing did.” quote by Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/barbara-tuchman-3945_espionage_nothing-can-stop-an-enemy-from-picking-w_1360506.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/barbara-tuchman-3945_espionage_nothing-can-stop-an-enemy-from-picking-w_1360506.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/barbara-tuchman-3945_espionage_nothing-can-stop-an-enemy-from-picking-w_1360506.png) > ““Nothing can stop an enemy from picking wireless messages out of the free air - and nothing did.”” [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wireless communications can be intercepted by anyone listening, making secrecy impossible without encryption. **In simple terms:** Unencrypted messages are easily intercepted. Key Takeaway Use encryption for privacy. Themes communication security technology Mood cautious informed Type historical technical When to use this quote - military operations - journalism - personal privacy Key Concepts cryptography information theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect sensitive data today? - What are the limits of encryption? A Different Perspective Even encrypted channels can be compromised with advanced techniques. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Espionage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/espionage/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [It will soon be possible to transmit wireless messages around the world so simply that any individual can carry and operate his own apparatus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/it-will-soon-be-possible-to-transmit-wireless-messages-around-the/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [“Just as you cannot stop a bird from flying over your head, in the same way you cannot stop the devil from dropping ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-okoro/just-as-you-cannot-stop-a-bird-from-flying-over-your-head-in-the-same/) [Pedro Okoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-okoro/) > [“Morality is all right, but what about dividends?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiser-wilhelm-ii/morality-is-all-right-but-what-about-dividends/) Kaiser Wilhelm II > [The wireless telegraph is not difficult to understand. The ordinary telegraph is like a very long cat. You pull the tail in New York,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-wireless-telegraph-is-not-difficult-to-understand-the-ordinary/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [It's all about sound. It's that simple. Wireless is wireless, and it's digital. Hopefully somewhere along the line somebody will add more ones to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-van-halen/it-s-all-about-sound-it-s-that-simple-wireless-is-wireless-and-it-s/) [Eddie Van Halen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-van-halen/) > [We're moving to this integration of biomedicine, information technology, wireless and mobile now - an era of digital medicine. Even my stethoscope is now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kraft/we-re-moving-to-this-integration-of-biomedicine-information/) Daniel Kraft > [The explosion of companies deploying wireless networks insecurely is creating vulnerabilities, as they think it's limited to the office - then they have Johnny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/the-explosion-of-companies-deploying-wireless-networks-insecurely-is/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [New security loopholes are constantly popping up because of wireless networking. The cat-and-mouse game between hackers and system administrators is still in full swing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/new-security-loopholes-are-constantly-popping-up-because-of-wireless/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [All of the people who are using their BlackBerries or their iPhones, Facebook, all of the people who are sitting in cafes and hotels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/all-of-the-people-who-are-using-their-blackberries-or-their-iphones/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [This is very positive for our community...The educational facilities in our area are enjoying advanced broadband services over a state-of-the-art 4G wireless network](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gates/this-is-very-positive-for-our-community-the-educational-facilities-in/) Larry Gates > [“At the same time that we see a massive deployment of wireless radiation, we see the most violent attacks on modern society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/at-the-same-time-that-we-see-a-massive-deployment-of-wireless/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Does it have to be wireless? Oh, it has to be digital? I was going to say a toaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-jonas/does-it-have-to-be-wireless-oh-it-has-to-be-digital-i-was-going-to/) [Joe Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-jonas/) > [I do not think that the wireless waves I have discovered will have any practical application](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-rudolf-hertz/i-do-not-think-that-the-wireless-waves-i-have-discovered-will-have/) Heinrich Rudolf Hertz > [I like everything with a heaping dose of feminitity, including my cell phone. I created this phone for the classic woman, who like me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimora-lee-simmons/i-like-everything-with-a-heaping-dose-of-feminitity-including-my-cell/) [Kimora Lee Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimora-lee-simmons/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. 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They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The power to command frequently causes failure to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-power-to-command-frequently-causes-failure-to-think/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [We seem to be afflicted by a widespread and eroding reluctance to take any stand on any values, moral, behavioral or esthetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/we-seem-to-be-afflicted-by-a-widespread-and-eroding-reluctance-to/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ The clergy \[in the 14th century\] on the whole were probably no more lecherous or greedy or untrustworthy than other men, but because they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-clergy-in-the-14th-century-on-the-whole-were-probably-no-more/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/without-books-history-is-silent-literature-dumb-science-crippled/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Words are seductive and dangerous material, to be used with caution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/words-are-seductive-and-dangerous-material-to-be-used-with-caution/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [“German soldiers, posted as informers, were found dressed as peasants, even as peasant women. The latter were discovered, presumably in the course of non-military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/german-soldiers-posted-as-informers-were-found-dressed-as-peasants/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I ask myself, have nations ever declined from a loss of moral sense rather than from physical reasons or the pressure of barbarians? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/i-ask-myself-have-nations-ever-declined-from-a-loss-of-moral-sense/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) [Explore all 119 Barbara Tuchman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## More Espionage quotes > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [“Havens turned again. Someone else passed between the trucks. That someone walked with less purpose than the other workers near the stalls. To Havens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-patten/havens-turned-again-someone-else-passed-between-the-trucks-that/) J.T. 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We act it to one another, all this hardness; but we aren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/we-have-to-live-without-sympathy-don-t-we-that-s-impossible-of-course/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“The Intelligence Services of East and West have given Europe over fifty years of peace - the longest the Continent has ever known. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-wolf/the-intelligence-services-of-east-and-west-have-given-europe-over/) [Markus Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-wolf/) > [“Believing in a conspiracy theory is one strategy people use to regain a sense of control, even if the conspiracy theory is unrelated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-auliq-ice-junior/believing-in-a-conspiracy-theory-is-one-strategy-people-use-to-regain/) Oscar Auliq-Ice Junior > [The majority of terrorist attacks that have been disrupted in the United States have been disrupted due to things like the Time Square bomber,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-majority-of-terrorist-attacks-that-have-been-disrupted-in-the/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [“espionage—against countries as diverse as Belgium, Japan, Brazil, and Germany—in stark terms:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/espionage-against-countries-as-diverse-as-belgium-japan-brazil-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Their conversation ceased abruptly with the entry of an oddly-shaped man whose body resembled a certain vegetable. He was a thickset fellow with calloused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-phillips/their-conversation-ceased-abruptly-with-the-entry-of-an-oddly-shaped/) Jeff Phillips > [Generally speaking, espionage offers each spy an opportunity to go crazy in a way he finds irresistible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/generally-speaking-espionage-offers-each-spy-an-opportunity-to-go/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [The Iraqi regime was supporting terrorist cells all over the world. We had to expel three Iraqi diplomats from the Philippines because of evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-iraqi-regime-was-supporting-terrorist-cells-all-over-the-world-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The sensation was an explosion of feelings, leaving in its place a pleasured memory of that moment. That, thought Seth, was pure heaven”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-eade/the-sensation-was-an-explosion-of-feelings-leaving-in-its-place-a/) [Kenneth Eade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-eade/) [Browse all 211 Espionage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/espionage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Nothing can stop an enemy from picking wireless messages out of the free air - and nothing did.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Tuchman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/nothing-can-stop-an-enemy-from-picking-wireless-messages-out-of-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Espionage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/nothing-can-stop-an-enemy-from-picking-wireless-messages-out-of-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/barbara-tuchman-3945_espionage_nothing-can-stop-an-enemy-from-picking-w_1360506.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/barbara-tuchman-3945_espionage_nothing-can-stop-an-enemy-from-picking-w_1360506.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/barbara-tuchman-3945_espionage_nothing-can-stop-an-enemy-from-picking-w_1360506.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing can stop an enemy from picking wireless messages out of the free air - and nothing did.” — Barbara Tuchman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara Tuchman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Nothing can stop an enemy from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/nothing-can-stop-an-enemy-from-picking-wireless-messages-out-of-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/nothing-can-stop-an-enemy-from-picking-wireless-messages-out-of-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```