ELECTRONIC WEAPONS: Vulnerabilities Without End July 4, 2021: Several years ago, in response to staff complaints, the CIA decided to replace its custom-made encrypted Fax machines with an encrypted email system called Gray Magic. The encrypted fax machines were mainly used for the CIA to communicate with its many contractors who developed and produced new equipment. While these special FAX machines were secure (difficult to intercept and/or decode) they were clumsy to use, especially as consumer and commercial email systems began to appear that enabled users to easily share information and speed up and improve the development process. As CIA and contractor personnel became familiar with these “collaborative email systems” they began to demand a new secure communications system to replace the secure but clumsy fax terminals.