General Discussion

For about 20 years a code simply consisted of 8 consecutive zeros it was the password to control the launch of nuclear missiles by the US military. But is it a true fact or a hoax invented from scratch? As surprising as this may be, it’s all true. For nearly two decades, during the height of the Cold War, the SAC (Strategic Air Command) of the United States deliberately set the launch code to eight zeros, a seemingly absurd choice, but nevertheless with an internal logic. In fact, it was not a programming error or a banal oversight, but rather a conscious decision taken ensure a rapid response in the event of an attack. The history of this decision and its background is a fascinating example of how the need for security can conflict with operational urgency, and how nuclear protection measures can be influenced by political and military dynamics.


In the 1962, the president John F. Kennedy signed the National Security Action Memorandum 160(available on this page) by ordering the installation of devices called PAL (Permissive Action Link) on all US nuclear weapons. These systems should have prevent launch without proper authorization. In fact, they were small devices that allowed missiles to be launched only using the right code, given with the right authority.

However, SAC considered the idea of ​​such a strict lockdown a risk to its operational capacity. The main objective of the military leaders was to ensure that, in the event of an attack, the missiles could be launched without delays due to complex orders or communication difficulties with the Central Command, especially if the command channels were compromised during a nuclear attack.

1977: the year the password “00000000” was abandoned.