According to Wikipedia: Kryptos is the Greek word for "hidden", and the root of other words such as cryptography, encryption and cryptic.
It is also more more importantly and with a bit of irony:
Kryptos, is also an encrypted sculpture on the grounds of the United States Central Intelligence Agency that has stumped the best minds in the CIA to decrypt the entire puzzle that makes up the sculpture created by DC artist James Sanborn in 1988 to create a sculpture of encrypted messages to be placed in the CIA headquarters’ courtyard in Langley, Virginia.
In a partnership with Ed Schiedt, former head of Langley’s Cryptographic Center, Sanborn produced a sculpture named “Kryptos” that consists of a four-part series using matrices, mathematics, and other techniques in cryptography. It is 865 characters of seeming gibberish, punched out of half-inch-thick copper in a courtyard.
Seven years after Kryptos’ 1990 dedication, CIA employee David Stein cracked the code for the first three sections (K1, K2, and K3). Sixteen months later, Jim Gillogly, an LA-area cryptanalyst, also broke the code. After this became publish, the CIA was compelled to publicize Stein’s earlier breakthrough.
The first three sections encrypt misspellings and other anomalies and it is supposed that likely hint at the solution to the fourth and final section. The last section is not in Standard English and requires two levels of cryptanalysis. The 97 characters of the fourth section have attracted a Kryptos community, amateurs and professionals alike, who remain steadfast in their efforts to decipher the code. Even once the code is cracked, there is still exists a hidden message.
What Else Is Kryptos?
- Kryptos (band), an Indian heavy metal band whose first album was 2004's Spiral Ascent
- Kryptos", the name of one of the four episodes of the 2006 British TV miniseries Eleventh Hour
- Kryptos, the name of a CD released in 1998 by Andreas Vollenweider
- It is also the #1 searched for term on Google today.
If you want to learn more, visit the resources below.
No comments:
Post a Comment