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More pics here: http://www.voynich.net/Kryptos/


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Classical Secrecy
Codebooks
One-time pad
Transposition
Substitution

Codebooks

Perfect Secrecy experiment


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Transposition
Spartans in particular, are said to have used this cipher to
communicate during military campaigns.
Show example with paper*

Substitution

Ma un jvc iumm svar


vgrx qv cd jvc dbhmm
bhgr h yrkduvk hkt
jvc ahj dqumm ahlr
h dbha vyyvduquvk
a bc de f g hi j kl mnopqr s t uvwxyz
hf s t r ne buol ma k v y px dqc gi z j w
Lm
If you will come
over to us you shall
have a pension and
you may still make
a sham opposition.

Cryptanalysis toolbox
1. Letter frequency analysis
2. Language characteristics
(q followed only by u)
3. Anagramming
apswsord = password

4. Index of coincidence (IC)

Letter frequency analysis


Hvs twfgh wrsog tcf ob szsqhfwq hszsufodv ksfs cihzwbsr acfs hvob
swuvhm msofg pstcfs hvs twfgh kcfywbu rsjwqs kog oqhiozzm
dohsbhsr. Wb 1753 ob obcbmacig kfwhsf 'Q.A.' kfchs o zshhsf hc hvs
Gqchg Aouonwbs hvoh giuusghsr igwbu ob offom ct 26 kwfsg - cbs tcf
soqv zshhsf ct hvs ozdvopsh - hc gsbr asggousg cjsf zcbu rwghobqsg.
Acgh dscdzs hvwby hvwg kfwhsf kog o Fsbtfsk wbjsbhcf qozzsr Qvofzsg
Acffwgcb - pih kvcsjsf vs kog, vs gcksr hvs gssrg ct ob wrso hvoh aobm
chvsfg kcizr hoys id cjsf hvs bslh vozt qsbhifm.
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/quenell/s2003/ma139/js/count.html or
https://goo.gl/YyMuJL
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Zodiac Killer
Z408
August 2nd
1969

A homophonic monoalphabetic substitution cipher

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Zodiac Killer
Cipher
Z340

Unknown and unsolved cipher


Cipher as it appeared in the SF Chronicle on Nov 13th, 1969

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Language characteristics
Most common words
the, be, to, of, and, a, in, that, have, I, it, for, not, on, with, he, as, you
Letters that often start words: t,a,o and end words: e, s, t

Trigrams
the, and, tha, ent, ing, ion, tio, for, nde, has, nce, edt, tis, oft, sth, men
Bigrams
th, he, in, en, nt, re, er, an, ti, es, on, at, se, nd, or, ar, al, te, co, de, to, ra, et,
ed, it, sa, em, ro.
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Anagramming

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Anagramming

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Index of coincidence (IC)


Probability of drawing the same random letter twice in a row

na is number of appearances of a and


N is the length of the message

For English this is 0.067 or normalized 1.73(c =26)


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Cipher Identification Process


1. If the Index of coincidence is high ( 0.070), i.e. similar to English
then its monoalphabetic
Is the frequency graph same as English Transposition cipher
If shifted frequency graph Caesar cipher
if not more complex key

2. If the Index of coincidence is low ( 0.0385 or 1/26), i.e. similar to


random text, then the message has probably been encrypted using
a polyalphabetic cipher (letters replaced by multiple other ones). A
monoalphabetic homophonic substitution is also a possibility.

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K1 & K2
http://rumkin.com/reference/kryptos/elonka.html
or goo.gl/5x6cgs

http://www.dcode.fr/index-coincidence
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Polyalphabetic Cryptanalysis
For a repeating-key polyalphabetic cipher, the coincidence rate within
each column will usually be highest when the width of the matrix is a
multiple of the key length
Used to determine the key length, the first step in cracking
Monoalphabetic cipher process is then used
David D. Steins - solutions parts 1 through 3
http://www.elonka.com/kryptos/mirrors/daw/steinarticle.html

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Analysis

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Log sum of letters


log (4.4) + log (4.4) + log (3.8) + log (7.4) +=7.3
25.2, 23.7 and 24.8 are the highest

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After Log sum and language characteristics


Most common first and last letters
Solution:
THEY USED THE EARTHS MAGNETIC
FIELD X THE INFORMATION WAS
GATHERED AND TRANSMITTED
UNDERGRUUND TO AN UNKNOWN
LOCATION X DOES LANGLEY KNOW
ABOUT THIS ?
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Complete solutions 1 and 2


BETWEEN SUBTLE SHADING AND THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT LIES THE
NUANCE OF IQLUSION
IT WAS TOTALLY INVISIBLE HOWS THAT POSSIBLE ? THEY USED THE
EARTHS MAGNETIC FIELD X THE INFORMATION WAS GATHERED AND
TRANSMITTED UNDERGRUUND TO AN UNKNOWN LOCATION X DOES
LANGLEY KNOW ABOUT THIS ? THEY SHOULD ITS BURIED OUT THERE
SOMEWHERE X WHO KNOWS THE EXACT LOCATION ? ONLY WW THIS
WAS HIS LAST MESSAGE X THIRTY EIGHT DEGREES FIFTY SEVEN
MINUTES SIX POINT FIVE SECONDS NORTH SEVENTY SEVEN DEGREES
EIGHT MINUTES FORTY FOUR SECONDS WEST X LAYER TWO
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K3
Encryption process is:
Route Transposition followed by a Keyed Columnar Transposition.
http://web.archive.org/web/20040406215452/http://www.cryptofone.com/kryptos3.html

The key is 0362514 (KRYPTOS).

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K4
?OBKR
UOXOGHULBSOLIFBBWFLRVQQPRNGKSSO
TWTQSJQSSEKZZWATJKLUDIAWINFBNYP
VTTMZFPKWGDKZXTJCDIGKUHUAUEKCAR
?OBKR
UOXOGHULBSOLIFBBWFLRVQQPRNGKSSO
TWTQSJQSSEKZZWATJKLUDIAWINFBBER
LINCLOCKWGDKZXTJCDIGKUHUAUEKCAR
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K4
Using the Kryptos alphabet what key gives us this?
Plaintext:
Ciphertext:
Partial key text:

BERL IN
NYPVTT
EL YOIE

C LOCK
MZFPK
C BAQK

Index of coincidence: 0.036


Letter frequency graph

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Clues?

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Second layer in solutions 1,2 and 3?


Keywords from parts 1, 2 and 3
Palimpsest, Abscissa and Kryptos
Misspelled words:
L in 'Iqlusion
O in Undergruund
A in Desparatly
Also:
Y, A and R superscripted in part 3 and strange message in part 3 plaintext:
X CAN YOU SEE ANYTHING Q? in part 3
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Morse code
Q: What do the morse code messages say?
SOS, LUCID MEMORY, T IS YOUR POSITION, SHADOW FORCES,
VIRTUALLY INVISIBLE, DIGETAL INTERPRETATU, and RQ (or maybe YR if
it's looked at upside down). Some of the messages appear to be
truncated or disappear as they go under a granite slab, so "T is your
position" may be a portion of a message that says, "What is your
position," and "Digetal interpretatu" might be short for "digetal
interpretation". Please check here for some pictures or here for
transcripts of the dots and dashes.

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Ideas
What if there is a hidden message extracted from k1, k2 and k3 by
correcting the errors (iqlusion, undergruund and desparatly).
The correct keys to correct this in parts 1 and 2 are: PALIMPCEST and
ABVCISSA. We can then take the new characters that changed on this
correction.
For part one this is: jatfbl and part2 is:
wrmxmjeuqiaelqooiqrmtrzuxdulflhbzujoijipqzhvpr.

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My current K4 Theory
Polyalphabetic
Running key

Hidden Key
Possibly transposed
Possibly using text from the Book on the discovery of Tutankhamuns grave
Possibly using parts of the deciphered text from part 1 or possibly 2 or 3

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The End
Questions?
More stuff ahead.

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More stuff

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Dear Agency Employees:


I, (Jim Sanborn), am writing this letter to give you an idea
of what I am up to at the Agency, (CIA), and to explain

those big tilted slabs of stone.


The stonework in the courtyard and at the entrance to the new
building serves to [sic] functions:
First, it creates a natural framework for the project as a
whole and is part of a landscaping scheme designed to recall
the natural stone outcroppings that existed on this site
before the Agency, and will endure as do mountains.

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Second, the tilted strata tell a story like pages of a document.


Over the next several months, a flat copper sheet through which
letters and symbols are cut will be inserted between these
stone "pages." This code, which includes certain ancient
ciphers, begins as International Morse and increases in
complexity as you move through the piece at the entrance and
into the courtyard. Its placement in a geologic context
reinforces the text's "hiddenness" as if it were a fossil
or an image frozen in time.
An installation in the courtyard further explores this theme.
On the paved surface, supported by a petrified tree, will
stand a curved, vertical copper plate. Approximately 2000
letters of the alphabet are cut through this plate (a
process which requires four months of work). The left side
of the plate is a table for deciphering and enciphering code,
developed by Blaise de Vigenere in 1570.
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The right side is a text that can be partly deciphered by using


the table and partly by using a potentially challenging
encoding system. The text, written in collaboration with a
prominent fictionwriter, is revealed only after the code is
deciphered.
My choice of materials, like code, conveys meaning. At the
entrance a lodestone (a rock naturally magnetized by
lighting [sic]) refers to ancient navigational compasses.
The petrified tree recalls the trees that once stood on this
site and that were the source of materials on which written
language has been recorded. The copper, perforated by text,
represents this "paper." I also use another symbol; water.
In a small pool on the plaza, partly surrounded by the copper
plate, water will be turbulent and provocative, constantly
agitated into standing waves. In the other pool, located among
trees in the courtyard and between two massive outcroppings,
water will be calm, reflective, contemplative.
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Other materials around the site -- large stones, ornamental grasses, and small
trees -- are designed to make the natural features surrounding
the Agency more visually interesting and thought provoking.

My work at Langley is approximately two thirds complete. If


you see me or my apprentices working, please don't hesitate
to ask questions about the work.
Sincerely,
(signed)

Jim Sanborn

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K4 other theories
Regular alphabet
ABSCISSA=HIGJPGGH
PALIMPSEST=DHRPSDGLGE
Key: HIGJPGGHDHRPSDGLGE
With plain Vigenere tableau alphabet not Kryptos alphabet
HTEIFIRHDADWJPIACBUTQWWLPJNIAYOHMHI
PPLKJUKMLBDIKEXNYEHNVCRHCHYYGHA
DQNBTBICQXOETQQCLOQDEJBQTMYBNUL
http://rumkin.com/reference/kryptos/elonka.html
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The artist on Morse code


Do you consider Kryptos to be the copperplate sheet or the Morse
code and reflection pools as well? yes
What can you tell us about the Morse code? read it

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Fractionation
101111011110102112221242
KRRYRKRRKRYRRK KRKRZRZKXY
000
http://crypto.interactive-maths.com/fractionating-ciphers.html

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Additional clues?
Have you been approached with any offers of money or otherwise to
reveal the answer? Could we fundraise enough to bribe you?
Answer:
No offers yet. Sure, raise $100k and I will give another one word clue,
old age is expensive.

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Beale Ciphers
Hidden treasure location

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The Gold Bug cipher, Poe 1840s


53305))6*;4826)4.)4);806*;488
60))85;;]8*;:*883(88)5*;46(;88*96
*?;8)*(;485);5*2:*(;4956*2(5*4)8
8*;4069285);)68)4;1(9;48081;8:8
1;4885;4)485528806*81(9;48;(88;4 (?34;48)4;161;:188;?;

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References
ID unknown ciphers http://practicalcryptography.com/cryptanalysis/textcharacterisation/identifying-unknown-ciphers/
General Kryptos information
https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/declass/cia_kryptos_sculpture.shtml
http://kryptools.com/hints.htm
Calculate Index of Coincidencehttp://www.thonky.com/kryptos/index-of-coincidence
Z408 http://www.zodiologists.com/z408_cipher_analysis.html

Kryptos questions & answers https://kryptosfan.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/jim-sanbornanswers-kryptos-questions/


Enigma machines http://www.ciphermysteries.com/2014/06/27/ralph-simpsons-splendid-googletech-talk-history-enigma-machines

Simon Singh http://simonsingh.net/cryptography/cryptograms/


Beale http://www.unmuseum.org/bealepap.htm
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