Kryptos by Vincent

I bet almost everyone has played some sort of puzzle game in their lifetime. Some puzzles are hard, some are easy, some you want to throw out the window, and finally are the ones you want to burn in a bonfire. Well, this puzzle is about 100 times worse than the puzzles that make you want to burn them in a bonfire.  I’m almost not joking. This is one of the hardest puzzles in American history. This puzzle is known as Kryptos. Few have solved it.

The creator of Kryptos is Jim Sanborn. Kryptos was completed November 3, 1990.

There are four sections to Kryptos and only three out of the four have ever been solved. Let’s start off with the first part of the puzzle, solved using a Vigenère cipher. A cipher is a secret or disguised way of writing; a code.  Fun fact about the Vigenère cipher is that it dates back to the year 1400s.  A Vigenère cipher is made from a Caesar cipher based on letters from key word(s). And a Caesar cipher is a very simple cipher which substitutes letters for other letters.  So for example, if I want to write “HI” but in a Caesar cipher it could be something like “EF”. The two key words in section one of Kryptos are PALIMPSEST and KRYPTOS.

(Caesar cipher)

Here is the encrypted text:

EMUFPHZLRFAXYUSDJKZLDKRNSHGNFIVJ
YQTQUXQBQVYUVLLTREVJYQTMKYRDMFD

Translation:

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

 

The second text was also solved with a Vigenère cipher. The key words this time were ABSCISSA and KRYPTOS.

Encrypted text:

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

Translations:

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 ID by rows

[The coordinates mentioned in the text was 38°57’6.5″N 77°8’44″W If you care to see where it is, you can look it up on google maps by copy and pasting the coordinates. And also “undergruud” with two u’s is correct.]

http://www.math.ucsd.edu/~crypto/Projects/KarlWang/index2.html#1

 

The next one is completely stolen from this site above:

“The key is 0362514 (KRYPTOS).
And the encryption process is Route Transposition followed by a Keyed Columnar Transposition.

Step 1, Route Transposition:

First we pad the message fitting it into a 86xN box.
Why padding it? To make the text in all the columns line up leaving columns of only two different lengths for the person decrypting to deal with, who is expected to know exactly how many of them there are and which ones they are. We are just being considerate of the guy with the key on the other end.

How many letters to add? The message length is 336 and we are fitting it into a box of width 86. 86 mod 7 = 2.
It means that every line except for the last one will have 2 extra columns. 336 mod 86 = 78.
The last line will be 78 letters long and 78 mod 7 = 1.
And since the number of the last line’s “extra” columns has to be the same as the first lines to make the columns line up, we only need one extra Q to make it 2 for all the lines. Clear enough?

Now to the transposition itself:
In by Rows backwards into 86×4, Out by Columns in groups of 7 which is the length of the key:SLOWLYDESPARATLYSLOWLYTHEREMAINSOFPASSAGEDEBRISTHATENCUM
BEREDTHELOWERPARTOFTHEDOORWAYWASREMOVEDWITHTREMBLINGHAND
SIMADEATINYBREACHINTHEUPPERLEFTHANDCORNERANDTHENWIDENING
THEHOLEALITTLEIINSERTEDTHECANDLEANDPEEREDINTHEHOTAIRESCA
PINGFROMTHECHAMBERCAUSEDTHEFLAMETOFLICKERBUTPRESENTLYDET
AILSOFTHEROOMWITHINEMERGEDFROMTHEMISTXCANYOUSEEANYTHINGQ?

->

? QGNIHTYNAEESUOYNACXTSIMEHTMORFDEGREMENIHTIWMOOREHTFOSLIATEDYLTNESERPTUBREKCILFOTEMALF
EHTDESUACREBMAHCEHTMORFGNIPACSERIATOHEHTNIDEREEPDNAELDNACEHTDETRESNIIELTTILAELOHEHTGNI
NEDIWNEHTDNARENROCDNAHTFELREPPUEHTNIHCAERBYNITAEDAMISDNAHGNILBMERTHTIWDEVOMERSAWYAWROO
DEHTFOTRAPREWOLEHTDEREBMUCNETAHTSIRBEDEGASSAPFOSNIAMEREHTYLWOLSYLTARAPSEDYLWOLS

What makes me think it was written backwards? Because the extra space is not at the end of the message but before the first letter. Who would bother calculating the position of the first letter and start writing the message beginning with the 7th column just to make it fill up the rectangle perfectly at the end?
I think it is easier to simply fill out the rectangle backwards if you are doing it with pen and paper.
Either way, it is 86×4 with 7 spaces in front of the first letter.

?QGNIHT YNAEESU OYNACXT SIMEHTM ORFDEGR EMENIHT IWMOORE HTFOSLI ATEDYLT NESERPT UBREKCI LFOTEMA LF
EHTDESU ACREBMA HCEHTMO RFGNIPA CSERIAT OHEHTNI DEREEPD NAELDNA CEHTDET RESNIIE LTTILAE LOHEHTG NI
NEDIWNE HTDNARE NROCDNA HTFELRE PPUEHTN IHCAERB YNITAED AMISDNA HGNILBM ERTHTIW DEVOMER SAWYAWR OO
DEHTFOT RAPREWO LEHTDER EBMUCNE TAHTSIR BEDEGAS SAPFOSN IAMEREH TYLWOLS YLTARAP SEDYLWO LS

Whichever way the text was written initially, after we restack it into 7 columns, it will result in:

?QGNIHT YNAEESU OYNACXT SIMEHTM ORFDEGR EMENIHT IWMOORE HTFOSLI ATEDYLT NESERPT UBREKCI LFOTEMA LF 
EHTDESU ACREBMA HCEHTMO RFGNIPA CSERIAT OHEHTNI DEREEPD NAELDNA CEHTDET RESNIIE LTTILAE LOHEHTG NI 
NEDIWNE HTDNARE NROCDNA HTFELRE PPUEHTN IHCAERB YNITAED AMISDNA HGNILBM ERTHTIW DEVOMER SAWYAWR OO 
DEHTFOT RAPREWO LEHTDER EBMUCNE TAHTSIR BEDEGAS SAPFOSN IAMEREH TYLWOLS YLTARAP SEDYLWO LS

Now write the key on top and proceed with…

Step 2, The Keyed Columnar Transposition:

KRYPTOS    KOPRSTY
0362514 -> 0123456

?QGNIHT YNAEESU OYNACXT SIMEHTM ORFDEGR EMENIHT IWMOORE HTFOSLI ATEDYLT NESERPT UBREKCI LFOTEMA LF
EHTDESU ACREBMA HCEHTMO RFGNIPA CSERIAT OHEHTNI DEREEPD NAELDNA CEHTDET RESNIIE LTTILAE LOHEHTG NI
NEDIWNE HTDNARE NROCDNA HTFELRE PPUEHTN IHCAERB YNITAED AMISDNA HGNILBM ERTHTIW DEVOMER SAWYAWR OO
DEHTFOT RAPREWO LEHTDER EBMUCNE TAHTSIR BEDEGAS SAPFOSN IAMEREH TYLWOLS YLTARAP SEDYLWO LS
Now to the last…

Step 3, Out by columns downwards, left to right resulting in:

?ENDYAHROHNLSRHEOCPTEOIBIDYSHNAIACHTNREYULDSLLSLLNO
HSNOSMRWXMNETPRNGATIHNRARPESLNNELEBLPIIACAEWMTW
NDITEENRAHCTENEUDRETNHAEOETFOLSEDTIWENHAEIOYTEY
QHEENCTAYCREIFTBRSPAMHHEWENATAMATEGYEERLBTEEFOASFIO
TUETUAEOTOARMAEERTNRTIBSEDDNIAAHTTMSTEWPIEROAGR
IEWFEBAECTDDHILCEIHSITEGOEAOSDDRYDLORITRKLMLEHA
GTDHARDPNEOHMGFMFEUHEECDMRIPFEIMEHNLSSTTRTVDOHW

Reminds you of anything? 😉

The decryption process requires knowing the key and the rectangle size for the route transposition:

KRYPTOS and 86.

First we determine the line lengths to split the message:
86 mod 7 = 2. It means that two of the columns are going to be longer.

Which two and by how much?
The first two in our system (they are 0 and 3 for the person decrypting the message), with lengths 51 and 47.
The difference between those lengths will be the same (4) for 86 mod 7 regardless of the message length.
You may want to find out why as an excercise.

So we…

Step 1, Split the input as follows:

0 ?ENDYAHROHNLSRHEOCPTEOIBIDYSHNAIACHTNREYULDSLLSLLNO
1 HSNOSMRWXMNETPRNGATIHNRARPESLNNELEBLPIIACAEWMTW
2 NDITEENRAHCTENEUDRETNHAEOETFOLSEDTIWENHAEIOYTEY
3 QHEENCTAYCREIFTBRSPAMHHEWENATAMATEGYEERLBTEEFOASFIO
4 TUETUAEOTOARMAEERTNRTIBSEDDNIAAHTTMSTEWPIEROAGR
5 IEWFEBAECTDDHILCEIHSITEGOEAOSDDRYDLORITRKLMLEHA
6 GTDHARDPNEOHMGFMFEUHEECDMRIPFEIMEHNLSSTTRTVDOHW

Step 2, Write it in columns… (i omitted it to make Step 3 clearer, hence the following text is on its side)

Step 3, Reorder the columns according to the key:

0 ?ENDYAHROHNLSRHEOCPTEOIBIDYSHNAIACHTNREYULDSLLSLLNO
3 QHEENCTAYCREIFTBRSPAMHHEWENATAMATEGYEERLBTEEFOASFIO
6 GTDHARDPNEOHMGFMFEUHEECDMRIPFEIMEHNLSSTTRTVDOHW
2 NDITEENRAHCTENEUDRETNHAEOETFOLSEDTIWENHAEIOYTEY
5 IEWFEBAECTDDHILCEIHSITEGOEAOSDDRYDLORITRKLMLEHA
1 HSNOSMRWXMNETPRNGATIHNRARPESLNNELEBLPIIACAEWMTW
4 TUETUAEOTOARMAEERTNRTIBSEDDNIAAHTTMSTEWPIEROAGR

Step 4, Chop them into 86-letter long lines
(in groups of 4 of course, since 337/86 is > 3 but is <= 4)

0 ?END YAHR OHNL SRHE OCPT EOIB IDYS HNAI ACHT NREY ULDS LLSL LNO
3 QHEE NCTA YCRE IFTB RSPA MHHE WENA TAMA TEGY EERL BTEE FOAS FIO
6 GTDH ARDP NEOH MGFM FEUH EECD MRIP FEIM EHNL SSTT RTVD OHW
2 NDIT EENR AHCT ENEU DRET NHAE OETF OLSE DTIW ENHA EIOY TEY
5 IEWF EBAE CTDD HILC EIHS ITEG OEAO SDDR YDLO RITR KLML EHA
1 HSNO SMRW XMNE TPRN GATI HNRA RPES LNNE LEBL PIIA CAEW MTW
4 TUET UAEO TOAR MAEE RTNR TIBS EDDN IAAH TTMS TEWP IERO AGR

Step 5, Read the resulting 4 lines of the message backwards (reverse of the Step 1 of encryption). Done.

If the same key KRYPTOS=0362514 was used to encrypt the 4th part, the decryption process would be as follows:

Let’s say the number of columns for the route transposition was 49 or 21…

Step 1:

?OBKRUOXOGHULBSOLIFBBWFLRVQQPRNGKSSOTWTQSJQSSEKZZWATJKLUDIAWINFBNYPVTTMZFPKWGDKZXTJCDIGKUHUAUEKCAR

->

?OBKRUOXOGHULB
SOLIFBBWFLRVQQ
PRNGKSSOTWTQSJ
QSSEKZZWATJKLU
DIAWINFBNYPVTT
MZFPKWGDKZXTJC
DIGKUHUAUEKCAR

Step 2:

?SPQDMD
OORSIZI
BLNSAFG
KIGEWPK
RFKKIKU
UBSZNWH
OBSZFGU
XWOWBDA
OFTANKU
GLWTYZE
HRTJPXK
UVQKVTC
LQSLTJA
BQJUTCR

Step 3:

KOPRSTY    KRYPTOS
0123456 -> 0362514

?SPQDMD    ?QDPMSD
OORSIZI    OSIRZOI
BLNSAFG    BSGNFLA
KIGEWPK    KEKGPIW
RFKKIKU    RKUKKFI
UBSZNWH    UZHSWBN
OBSZFGU    OZUSGBF
XWOWBDA    XWAODWB
OFTANKU    OAUTKFN
GLWTYZE    GTEWZLY
HRTJPXK    HJKTXRP
UVQKVTC    UKCQTVV
LQSLTJA    LLASJQT
BQJUTCR    BURJCQT

Step 4:

For 49 columns:

?QDPMSD BSGNFLA RKUKKFI OZUSGBF OAUTKFN HJKTXRP LLASJQT
OSIRZOI KEKGPIW UZHSWBN XWAODWB GTEWZLY UKCQTVV BURJCQT

For 21 columns:

?QDPMSD UZHSWBN HJKTXRP
OSIRZOI OZUSGBF UKCQTVV
BSGNFLA XWAODWB LLASJQT
KEKGPIW OAUTKFN BURJCQT
RKUKKFI GTEWZLY

Step 5:

For 49:

TQCJRUBVVTQCKUYLZWETGBWDOAWXNBWSHZUWIPGKEKIOZRISOTQJSALLPRXTKJHNFKTUAOFBGSUZOIFKKUKRALFNGSBDSMPDQ?

For 21:

YLZWETGIFKKUKRTQCJRUBNFKTUAOWIPGKEKTQJSALLBWDOAWXALFNGSBVVTQCKUFBGSUZOIOZRISOPRXTKJHNBWSHZUDSMPDQ?

Step 6: Breaking the cipher (most probably the same double-key Vigenere) and reading the message.

 

The final decrypted message

SLOWLYDESPARATLYSLOWLYTHEREMAINSOFPASSAGEDEBRIST
HATENCUMBEREDTHELOWERPARTOFTHEDOORWAYWASREMOVEDW
ITHTREMBLINGHANDSIMADEATINYBREACHINTHEUPPERLEFTH
ANDCORNERANDTHENWIDENINGTHEHOLEALITTLEIINSERTEDT
HECANDLEANDPEEREDINTHEHOTAIRESCAPINGFROMTHECHAMB
ERCAUSEDTHEFLAMETOFLICKERBUTPRESENTLYDETAILSOFTH
EROOMWITHINEMERGEDFROMTHEMISTXCANYOUSEEANYTHINGQ

Add in a sprinkling of punctuation, and it comes out to be

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?”

And finally last but not least the forth puzzle. There has been no publicly announced answer that the creators have said were right.

Fun And Weird Video I Found:

 

Sources:

Solving Kryptos. (n.d.). Retrieved May 05, 2017, from http://www.math.ucsd.edu/~crypto/Projects/KarlWang/index2.html#1

Kryptos. (2017, April 20). Retrieved May 05, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kryptos