For a long time, the government’s public stance was clear: Only the president could order a nuclear strike. So far, so “normal.” What wasn’t widely understood...
TLDR: Kennedy insisted on a pass code in 1962. Strategic Air Command prioritized expediency over security and set the “default” password to “00000000” as described in the nuclear launch manual. This code was (probably) not changed until someone made the information public in 1977 and a more secure procedure was implemented.
TLDR: Kennedy insisted on a pass code in 1962. Strategic Air Command prioritized expediency over security and set the “default” password to “00000000” as described in the nuclear launch manual. This code was (probably) not changed until someone made the information public in 1977 and a more secure procedure was implemented.