Solve This Cipher

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Solve This Cipher and Win! and

An Examination of Some Unsolved Ciphers Michael “theprez98” Schearer

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Introduction

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Who am I, and why am I here?

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Michael “theprez98” Schearer  Separated

from nearly 9 years in the U.S. Navy (flying aircraft)  Currently working for a U.S. government contractor in Maryland (flying a desk)  Speaker at ShmooCon 2007 and 2008  Contributing author to Penetration Tester's Open Source Toolkit (Volume 2) Netcat Power Tools and Kismet Hacking!  Football coach and proud father of four 4

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Michael “theprez98” Schearer  Not

a cryptographer! Just an amateur who is fascinated by the application of mathematics to real-world situations  Not all ciphers are solved by skilled cryptographers (as we will see)

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Agenda  Introduction  Brief

History of Cryptography  Examples of Solved Ciphers  Unsolved Ciphers  ShmooCipher  Conclusions  Questions & Answers 6

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Brief History of Cryptography

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Early Examples καὶ ἵνα μή τις δύνηται ἀγοράσαι ἢ πωλῆσαι εἰ μὴ ὁ ἔχων τὸ χάραγμα, τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ θηρίου ἢ τὸν ἀριθμὸν τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ. Ὧδε ἡ σοφία ἐστίν· ὁ ἔχων νοῦν ψηφισάτω τὸν ἀριθμὸν τοῦ θηρίου· ἀριθμὸς γὰρ ἀνθρώπου ἐστί· καὶ ὁ ἀριθμὸς αὐτοῦ χξϛʹ. And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. -- Revelation 13:16-17 8

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Hebrew Gematria Nero Caesar Neron Kaisar NRWN QSR N ‫נ‬ 50

R ‫ר‬ 200

W ‫ו‬ 6

N ‫נ‬ 50

Q ‫ק‬ 100

S ‫ס‬ 60

R ‫ר‬ 200

50 + 200 + 6 + 50 + 100 + 60 + 200 = 666 9

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Early Examples

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Atbash Cipher A B C D E F G H I

J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Z Y X W V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I

H G F E D C B A

Sheshakh Bavel is Hebrew for Babylon 11

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Al-Kindi

Invented the cryptanalytic technique of frequency analysis for breaking monoalphabetic substitution ciphers 12

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Polyalphabetic Substitution 

  

Leon Battista Alberti developed the first polyalphabetic substitution cipher circa 1467 Strengthened ciphers against frequency analysis attack Vigenère cipher is the best known example Enigma performed a polyalphabetic substitution (still some unsolved!)

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The Gold-Bug  Edgar

Allen Poe story based around a simple substitution cipher  Won the grand prize in a writing contest sponsored by the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper ($100!)  Most popular and most-widely read of Poe’s works during his lifetime  A young William Friedman became interested in cryptography after reading The Gold-Bug 14

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The Gold-Bug 53‡‡†305))6*;4826)4‡.)4‡);806*;48†8 ¶60))85;1‡(;:‡*8†83(88)5*†;46(;88*96 *?;8)*‡(;485);5*†2:*‡(;4956*2(5*—4)8 ¶8*;4069285);)6†8)4‡‡;1(‡9;48081;8:8‡ 1;48†85;4)485†528806*81(‡9;48;88;4 (‡?34;48)4‡;161;:188;‡?; A good glass in the bishop's hostel in the devil's seat forty-one degrees and thirteen minutes northeast and by north main branch seventh limb east side shoot from the left eye of the death's-head a bee line from the tree through the shot fifty feet out. 15

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Tap Code  Based

upon Polybius Square  C is used to represent K  Used by prisoners to communicate (most famously U.S. POWs in Vietnam)

taps

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Examples of Solved Ciphers

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Poe Cryptographic Challenge

The soul secure in her existence smiles at the drawn dagger and defies its point. The stars shall fade away, the sun himself grow dim with age and nature sink in years, but thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, unhurt amid the war of elements, the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds. --Joseph Addison, Cato

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Poe Cryptographic Challenge It was early spring, warm and sultry glowed the afternoon. The very breezes seemed to share the delicious langour of universal nature, are laden the various and mingled perfumes of the rose and the –essaerne (?), the woodbine and its wildflower. They slowly wafted their fragrant offering to the open window where sat the lovers. The ardent sun shoot fell upon her blushing face and its gentle beauty was more like the creation of romance or the fair inspiration of a dream than the actual reality on earth. Tenderly her lover gazed upon her as the clusterous ringlets were edged (?) by amorous and sportive zephyrs and when he perceived (?) the rude intrusion of the sunlight he sprang to draw the curtain but softly she stayed him. “No, no, dear Charles,” she softly said, “much rather you’ld I have a little sun than no air at all.”

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Smithy Code  Came

about as a result of the Da Vinci Code plagiarism case  Justice Peter Smith encoded a message into the actual text of the judgment by italicizing specific letters s m i t h y c o d e J a e i e x t o s t g p s a c g r e a m q w f k a d p m q z v 20

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Smithy Code  The

cipher is a Beaufort Variant of a Vigenère polyalphabetic substitution cipher.  The key is an alphabetic transposition of a modified Fibonacci sequence

Jackie Fisher, who are you? Dreadnought. 21

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Unsolved Ciphers

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Partial Solutions

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Kryptos  Created

by artist James Sanborn (1990)  Consulted with Ed Scheidt, former Chairman of the CIA Cryptographic Center  Three of four sections solved – James Gilloghy (computer scientist, 1999) – David Stein (CIA, 1998, not public at the time) – Ken Miller, Dennis McDaniels and others (NSA, 1992, not public at the time)

 KRYPTOS

Group coordinates actions of attempts to solve the fourth section 24

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K1 Ciphertext

EMUFPHZLRFAXYUSDJKZLDKRNSHGNFIVJ YQTQUXQBQVYUVLLTREVJYQTMKYRDMFD

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K1: Polyalphabetic Substitution K R Y P T O S A B C D E F G H I J L M N Q U V W X Z 1 P T O S A B C D E F G H I J L M N Q U V W X Z K R Y 2 A B C D E F G H I J L M N Q U V W X Z K R Y P T O S 3 L M N Q U V W X Z K R Y P T O S A B C D E F G H I J 4 I J L M N Q U V W X Z K R Y P T O S A B C D E F G H 5 M N Q U V W X Z K R Y P T O S A B C D E F G H I J L 6 P T O S A B C D E F G H I J L M N Q U V W X Z K R Y 7 S A B C D E F G H I J L M N Q U V W X Z K R Y P T O 8 E F G H I J L M N Q U V W X Z K R Y P T O S A B C D 9 S A B C D E F G H I J L M N Q U V W X Z K R Y P T O 0 T O S A B C D E F G H I J L M N Q U V W X Z K R Y P 1

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K1 Solution

Between subtle shading and the absence of light lies the nuance of iqlusion.

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K2 Ciphertext VFPJUDEEHZWETZYVGWHKKQETGFQJNCE GGWHKK?DQMCPFQZDQMMIAGPFXHQRLG TIMVMZJANQLVKQEDAGDVFRPJUNGEUNA QZGZLECGYUXUEENJTBJLBQCRTBJDFHRR YIZETKZEMVDUFKSJHKFWHKUWQLSZFTI HHDDDUVH?DWKBFUFPWNTDFIYCUQZERE EVLDKFEZMOQQJLTTUGSYQPFEUNLAVIDX FLGGTEZ?FKZBSFDQVGOGIPUFXHHDRKF FHQNTGPUAECNUVPDJMQCLQUMUNEDFQ ELZZVRRGKFFVOEEXBDMVPNFQXEZLGRE DNQFMPNZGLFLPMRJQYALMGNUVPDXVKP DQUMEBEDMHDAFMJGZNUPLGEWJLLAETG 28

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K2 Solution 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 2 29

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K3 Ciphertext ENDYAHROHNLSRHEOCPTEOIBIDYSHNAIA CHTNREYULDSLLSLLNOHSNOSMRWXMNE TPRNGATIHNRARPESLNNELEBLPIIACAE WMTWNDITEENRAHCTENEUDRETNHAEOE TFOLSEDTIWENHAEIOYTEYQHEENCTAYCR EIFTBRSPAMHHEWENATAMATEGYEERLB TEEFOASFIOTUETUAEOTOARMAEERTNRTI BSEDDNIAAHTTMSTEWPIEROAGRIEWFEB AECTDDHILCEIHSITEGOEAOSDDRYDLORIT RKLMLEHAGTDHARDPNEOHMGFMFEUHE ECDMRIPFEIMEHNLSSTTRTVDOHW?

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K2 Solution 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 lefthand 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

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K4 Ciphertext

OBKR UOXOGHULBSOLIFBBWFLRVQQPRNGKSSO TWTQSJQSSEKZZWATJKLUDIAWINFBNYP VTTMZFPKWGDKZXTJCDIGKUHUAUEKCAR

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Partial Solutions

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Solved Zodiac Cipher

I like killing people because it is so much fun it is more fun than killing wild game in the forrest because man is the most dangeroue anamal of all to kill something…

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Who Solved the Zodiac Cipher? San Francisco Police Department B. FBI C. San Francisco Chronicle reporter D. NSA A.

None of the above. The first Zodiac Cipher was solved by a school teacher, Donald Harden, and his wife Bettye. 35

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Unsolved Zodiac Cipher

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Unsolved Zodiac Cipher

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Unsolved Zodiac Cipher

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Voynich Manuscript

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Dorabella Cipher

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d'Agapeyeff Cipher 75628 74826 75756 72628 91918 71658 81657 82858

28591 26475 46282 36281 46385 36264 27483 47582

62916 83828 92857 81728 84656 74818 83858 81837

48164 49175 46382 16463 48565 28462 28364 28462

91748 74658 75748 75828 62946 82649 62726 82837

58464 37575 38165 16483 26285 18193 26562 58164

74748 75936 81848 63828 91859 65626 83759 75748

28483 36565 56485 58163 17491 48484 27263 58162

81638 81638 64858 63630 72756 91838 82827 92000

18174 17585 56382 47481 46575 57491 27283

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Beale Cipher 1/3

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Beale Cipher 2/3

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Beale Cipher 2/3

When 2in 3the 4Course 5of 6human 7events 8it 9 becomes 10necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which 20have connected them with another and to assume among the 30powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to 40which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle 50them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires 60that they should declare the causes which impel them to 70the separation. 1

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Beale Cipher I 115 HAVE 73 24 807 37 DEPOSITED 52 49 17 31 62 647 22 7 15 IN 140 47 THE 29 107 79 COUNTY 84 56 239 10 26 811 OF 5 196 BEDFORD 308 85 52 160 136 59 211… I have deposited in the county of Bedford about fo[u]r miles from Bufords in an e[x]cavation or vault si[x] feet below the surface of the ground the following articles belonging jointly to the parties whose names are given in number three herewith. The first deposit consist[e]d of ten hundred and fourteen pounds of gold and thirty eight hundred and twelve pounds of silver deposited Nov eighteen nineteen. The second was made Dec eighteen twenty one and consisted of nineteen hundred and seven pounds of gold and twelve hundred and eighty eight of silver, also jewels obtained in St. Louis in e[x]change to save transportation and valued at thirteen [t]housand dollars. The above is securely packed i[n] [i]ron pots with iron cov[e]rs. The vault is roughly lined with stone and th[e] vessels rest on solid stone and are covered [w]ith others. Paper number one describes th[e] e[x]act locality of the va[u]lt so that no difficulty will be had in finding it.

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Beale Cipher 3/3

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Beale Ciphers  Parts

1 & 3 are as yet unsolved  The modified DOI is the key to Part 2, but doesn’t help with Parts 1 & 3  There is a considerable body of scholarship which lends to the belief that the Beale Ciphers are an elaborate hoax

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ShmooCipher

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Stage 1

230 266 239 333 73 20 327 39 173 105 184 185 16 347 131 214 138 48 218 328 101 349 (9) (8) 33 346 28 260 142 167 Any ideas? 49

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Stage 1 230 266 239 333 73 20 327 39 173 105 184 185 16 347 131 214 138 48 218 328 101 349 (9) (8) 33 346 28 260 142 167 Despite the application of high power computing, there remains a body of unsolved ciphers that resist exploitation. Some are (in)famous and others obscure, some may be hoaxes and others yet to be discovered, but they share the same fate: they have yet to be solved. This presentation will review a number of unsolved ciphers as well as detail some recent success stories as a means of spurring amateur cryptographers to action.

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Stage 1 D 1

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S 3

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H E A P 9 10 11 12

P L I C A T I O N O F H 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 And so on… 51

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Stage 1 Solution 230 266 239 333 73 20 327 39 173 w w w g e o c i t 105 184 185 16 347 131 214 138 48 i e s c o m t h e 218 328 101 349 (9) (8) 33 346 28 p r e (z) 9 8 c i p 260 142 167 h e r

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Stage 1 Solution

wwwgeocitiescomtheprez98cipher www.geocities.com/theprez98/cipher

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Stage 2

You’re on your own from here!

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Conclusions

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Conclusions  Cryptography

weaves through history among many disciplines, particularly religion and warfare  You don’t have to be a mathematician or even very good at math! ;)  Amateurs can make significant contributions to solving ciphers  You can contribute to distributed computing efforts 56

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References     

http://www.mechon-mamre.org http://www.bokler.com/eapoe.html http://filebox.vt.edu/users/batman/kryptos.html http://elonka.com http://www.zodiackiller.com

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Questions & Answers

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