Chinese lotto as an exhaustive code-breaking machine

It is demonstrated that some problems can be solved inexpensively using widely distributed computers instead of an expensive supercomputer. This is illustrated by discussing how to make a simple fault-tolerant exhaustive code-breaking machine. The solution, which uses distributed processors is based on some elementary concepts of probability theory (lotto). The need for communication between processors is almost nil. Two approaches-deterministic and random-are compared. How to hide such a machine and how to build larger versions are discussed.<>