The Enigma machine was a mechanical encoding/decoding device used by the German military in WWII and which the British were able to successfully crack on occasion. It is now possible to purchase a Do-it-yourself Enigma machine and even a paper-version of one.
>the British were able to successfully crack on occasion
More accurate description of cracking Enigma at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptanalysis_of_the_Enigma