The Kryptos Cipher

Mysteries 5 Minutes

Filly brought an interesting article about this Cipher outside the CIA building in Langley, Virginia.  I found this article, on the Popular Mechanics website describing the creation, the author and the puzzle.

From Popular Mechanics:

The creator of a well-known CIA cryptographic puzzle has just released a new clue to finally solve it. While the sculpture containing all of the scrambled letters is public, no one has cracked the complete code in the three decades it’s been standing. Part of the reason why this thing hasn’t been solved yet is because the guy who created the Kryptos sculpture, as it’s called, is an artist—not a cryptographer by trade.

Imagine walking past a 12-foot-tall scroll covered in seemingly nonsensical letters every day for 30 years and wondering just what the hell it actually means. That’s probably how it feels to be the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employees who regularly pass by the infamous Kryptos sculpture in the courtyard of the bureau’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

Kryptos, devised by artist Jim Sanborn, has been around for nearly three decades, and yet no one has figured out what the full message says, let alone cracked the underlying riddle. Even the National Security Agency (NSA) could only decrypt part of the code.

Now, just months before a dedication ceremony in November to celebrate the copper scroll’s 30 years of stumping experts, Sanborn has released a third and final clue to help hobbyists—who easily number in the thousands, based on activity in code-cracking forums—figure out what the remaining, unsolved 97-character passage says. 

But Sanborn says unscrambling that phrase won’t exactly lead you to a quick victory. It’s really just the end of step one. “It’s a 97-character phrase,” he told NPR. “And that phrase is in itself a riddle. It’s mysterious. It’s going to lead to something else. It’s not going to be finished when it’s decoded.

A Brief History of Kryptos

In 1990, sculptors first erected Kryptos. At about 12 feet tall and 20 feet long, the now-greenish copper structure offers up some 240 square feet of frustration to all of the CIA employees and codebreakers—like video game developer and cryptologist Elonka Dunin—who set eyes on it.

Dunin is a master cryptographer and runs a helpful and in-depth website all about Kryptos. (She’s cracked so many codes that Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, even named a character in that book after her.) According to her site, Kryptos contains a series of punched-out letters in a metal structure, is made up of thousands of characters, and shows four total messages.

There are actually several various parts to Kryptos, all scattered around the CIA headquarters. There’s the ultra-famous copper scroll, which contains nearly 1,800 encrypted characters. It’s next to a petrified tree and a circular pool. Then there are several sheets of copper, embossed with Morse Code, and sandwiched between granite slabs. A nearby landscaped area includes more granite slabs and a duck pond. Finally, there’s an engraved compass with a needle pointing at a lodestone, a naturally magnetized form of magnetite rock.

Sanborn received a bit of help from Edward Scheidt, a retired chairman of the CIA’s cryptographic center, to come up with the codes for each passage. The Kryptos message contains a partial guide to the code’s solution inside the panels of the sculpture.

Thanks to two prior clues from Sanborn in 2010 and 2014, the first three passages have been solved by the likes of NSA employees and James Gillogly, a computer scientist, but the final 97-character portion still eludes experts.

“It is considered to be one of the most famous unsolved codes of the world,” Dunin said in a documentary interview. “Here we are going on 30 years, and it still hasn’t been cracked.”

The Transcript

The first portion of the Kryptos puzzle is a poetic phrase, written by Sanborn, himself:

BETWEEN SUBTLE SHADING AND THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT LIES THE NUANCE OF IQLUSION.

Sanborn says that the misspelling of “illusion” as “iqlusion” was intentional, to make it tougher for cryptographers to decode.

In the second phrase, the exact latitude and longitude of the CIA headquarters is pointed out, and something buried is hinted at:

DOES LANGLEY KNOW ABOUT THIS? THEY SHOULD: IT’S BURIED OUT THERE SOMEWHERE. X WHO KNOWS THE EXACT LOCATION? ONLY WW.

Apparently “W.W.” is a reference to William Webster, who headed the CIA when the sculpture was first unveiled in 1990. Sanborn allegedly gave him a key to decipher the code.

In the third section, there are lines from archaeologist Howard Carter’s diary, describing a door opening into King Tut’s tomb. Note that there are more misspellings:

SLOWLY, DESPARATLY SLOWLY, THE REMAINS OF PASSAGE DEBRIS THAT ENCUMBERED THE LOWER PART OF THE DOORWAY WAS REMOVED. WITH TREMBLING HANDS I MADE A TINY BREACH IN THE UPPER LEFT-HAND CORNER. AND THEN, WIDENING THE HOLE A LITTLE, I INSERTED THE CANDLE AND PEERED IN. THE HOT AIR ESCAPING FROM THE CHAMBER CAUSED THE FLAME TO FLICKER, BUT PRESENTLY DETAILS OF THE ROOM WITHIN EMERGED FROM THE MIST. X CAN YOU SEE ANYTHING? Q

Karl Wang, a student at the University of California San Diego who created a page with the solutions, says the third passage is much more difficult to crack than the prior two.

“The first two parts are straight-forward enough that nearly anybody with a simple education in cryptography can solve them,” he said on his page. “The third part is much more advanced, and the fourth part is borderline impossible.”

Karl Wang

Gillogly was the first to publicly announce a solution for the first three parts, which he completed with a computer attack in 1999, according to Dunin’s website. Afterward, the CIA said its own analyst, David Stein, had also solved those first three parts, but had done so a year prior with paper and pencil.

Two years after Stein’s solution was announced, the NSA claimed it had a team that solved parts one through three all the way back in 1992, but kept mum. Still, no one has cracked part four.

To solve the first two passages, codebreakers used vigenere, which is what cryptologists call a polyalphabetic substitution cipher system. It means multiple alphabets are used to encrypt one message. Created in the 16th century by cryptographer Giovan Battista Bellaso, the scheme was easy to create, but excruciatingly hard to crack. It wasn’t until nearly 300 years later that a vigenere cipher was first solved, leading the French to call it “le chiffre indéchiffrable,” or “the indecipherable cipher.” Today, people mostly use computers to crack these codes.

How to Solve the Code

To solve part four, Dunin and other cryptologists have tried every method at their disposal, from polyalphabetic substitution to transposition. No such luck. Now, with three clues in hand, “BERLIN,” CLOCK,” and “NORTHEAST,” it’s your turn.

When you think you have the answer right, head to Sanborn’s website, where you can find the best way to contact him to see if your solution is correct. Right now, it’s an email process that costs $50 per entry.

If all else fails, don’t get too hard on yourself. “Kryptos” is Greek for “hidden,” and it looks like the answers to this puzzle might well be tucked away for another 30 years—or at least until Sanborn dies and eventually auctions off the solution to the code. He told The New York Times that any of the money raised through an auction will go to climate science.

SOURCE: POPULARMECHANICS.COM

Pat’s Note: This seems like a waste of time.  Deliberately misspelling a word to make it harder is unthinkable and charging $50 to submit a guess/answer seems like a cheap money-making scheme. 

Unknown's avatar

Published by pat frederick

Published

137 thoughts on “The Kryptos Cipher”

      2. My daughter’s hair was that long at one point but it was dark blond, with a white streak (Angel’s Kiss) on the left side.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Benny Johnson
    @bennyjohnson
    🚨BREAKING: Associate Deputy AG Ed Martin drops major J6 pipe bomber news — Biden covered it up, he’s seen the footage, and new evidence, suspects are revealed:

    Biden “sat on the case for 4 years… We put eyes on it… We’ve got suspects and data.. All coming out… Prosecutions”

    Liked by 1 person

  8. “Police investigate disappearance of Melania Trump’s statue in her native Slovenia…

    The life-size sculpture was unveiled in 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term in office near Sevnica in central Slovenia, where Melanija Knavs was born in 1970. It replaced a wooden statue that had been set on fire earlier that year.

    LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — “Police in Slovenia are investigating the disappearance of a bronze statue of U.S. first lady Melania Trump that was sawed off and carried away from her hometown. The life-size sculpture was unveiled in 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term in office near Sevnica in central Slovenia, where Melanija Knavs was born in 1970. It replaced a wooden statue that had been set on fire earlier that year.

    Police spokeswoman Alenka Drenik Rangus said Friday that the police were informed about the theft of the statue on Tuesday. She said police were working to track down those responsible. According to Slovenian media reports, the bronze replica was sawed off at the ankles and removed.

    Franja Kranjc, who works at a bakery in Sevnica that sells cakes with Melania Trump’s name in support of the first lady, said the stolen statue won’t be missed.

    “I think no one was really proud at this statue, not even the first lady of the USA,” he said. “So I think its OK that it’s removed.”

    The original wooden statue was torched in July 2020. The rustic figure was cut from the trunk of a linden tree, showing her in a pale blue dress like the one she wore at Trump’s presidential inauguration in 2017. The replica bronze statue has no obvious resemblance with the first lady.”

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Well, I decided once and for all to quit smoking. I usually smoke a pack or more every day but today I’ve got it down to only 3 cigs. I’m tired of coughing all fricking night and not being able to breathe. But it seems to have gotten worse since I started using the Albuterol inhaler ….makes me wonder….I’ve been smoking for over 50 years – it’s past time! But dang it’s hard!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

  16. A bit late…but here’s a SALLY Q ⚓ UPDATE

    I’m staying overnight in the S GA town where Sally’s Dad grew up.  Sally will be buried tomorrow in the family plot.  It’s a railroad town, with a massive train yard.  It’s fun and interesting to watch the different kinds of freight trains move through the middle of town.  Not sure any passenger trains are routed this way.  It’s also a town near the great Okefenokee swamp – so the local high school team is the Gators.

    The funeral home has been owned and operated by generations of the same family.   The head of the business is the grandson of of a high school classmate and football team mate of Sally’s Dad.   The funeral home helped immensely with everything from the first call to them by the U of MD Brain and Tissue Bank to the transport and selection of a florist, etc.

    We are having a heat wave in S GA, so I’ll be glad for the tents and an 11 o’clock service.   Afterward, all who gather to honor our Sally Q. will be invited to lunch at the local golf club.  I came over earlier this week to meet with the funeral directors.  A local conservative branch Methodist pastor whom I’ve never met will be conducting the funeral service.  He’s a retired pastor and teaches music at the local Christian school.  

    It fell on me to pick out the casket, Scriptures and music.  I picked my favorite music – from Mozart’s Laudate Dominum K339 for guitar by Christopher Parkening, a guitar version of Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring, Come to Jesus by Chris Rice (a very evangelistic piece), and ending with I’ll Fly Away, played on hammered dulcimer and guitar by Sally’s first cousins, Kendra Ward and Bob Bence.  

    Favorite Scriptures I sent for the pastor to choose from – 

    So God has given both his promise and his oath.  These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.  Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.  This hope is a strong and trustworthy ⚓ anchor for our souls.  It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.

     – Hebrews 6:18-19

    For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39

    My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. – John 10:27-29

    1 Corinthians 15:51-53 – Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
    Take notice! I tell you a mystery (a secret truth, an event decreed by the hidden purpose or counsel of God). We shall not all fall asleep [in death], but we shall all be changed (transformed)
    In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the [sound of the] last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [in Christ] will be raised imperishable (free and immune from decay), and we shall be changed (transformed).
    For this perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable [nature], and this mortal [part of us, this nature that is capable of dying] must put on immortality (freedom from death).

    2 Corinthians 5:1
    For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

    I John 3:1-3 
    See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Dear friends,now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

    Revelation 21:3-5 
    And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
    He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”It should be a beautiful day, a sweet time to worship our GOD, and to commit our Sally Q back to Him – a day with lots of love, tears and laughter…
    Love to all of you!      

    Liked by 1 person

  17. I agree with you, Ms. Pat. Everybody loves secrets. My mother spent years trying to find a code in Shakespeare’s sonnets. She had several books on cryptography.

    Like

      1. And no longer fun. I don’t like what I already know about the CIA. It operates on secrecy and seems fraudulent by its very nature. There is nothing to solve.
        My mother always thought there was a code in Shakespeare. She mentioned Christopher Marlowe as one of Shakespeare’s collaborators. Said the only portrait of the bard depicted him with hand on a sack of potatoes. In Elizabethan England, the arts fluorished, maybe because Elizabeth practiced royal censorship. My mother bribed me to study Latin for at least two years.
        It later helped me with medical terminology.

        Liked by 1 person

  18. I appreciated Latin for its structured, grammatical foundations. Declensions, tenses, and how use changes endings of pronouns and verbs. Even nouns were male or female. It did help me understand French language structure later. I now believe study of any language is mind-broadening.

    Like

Comments are closed.