30 Aug 06 @ 2042Hrs: Updated with a pdf of the comments on Fark so far.
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I was on my way to work this afternoon (yes, I know it’s a Sunday) when I chanced upon a strange thing lying on the grass verge lining the footpath leading to my office.
It was a little piece of A4-sized cardboard, with what seemed to be some code scribbled on it. When I first saw it, it took every bit of willpower I could muster to resist picking it up, but apparently it wasn’t enough, and 50m down the path I gave in and did a quick about-turn to retrieve it.
Here it is:
Click for full.
The fact that this was scrawled on a piece of cardboard then carelessly discarded beside a busy footpath rather than sealed in a vault on triple-redundant hard disks leads me gently to the assumption that it - if a code - is probably some form of simple monoalphabetic substitution cipher. Polyalphabetic at most.
Here’s what I gather upon initial inspection:
The spaces look natural I’ve changed my mind. There seems to be too many five-letter words.- Some “words” don’t have vowels, lowering the chance of this being some transposition scheme. Besides, what sort of word is “CCBA”?
- The handwriting looks shaky and uncertain, but is consistent. The work of a child? Maybe. Kinda rules out 256-bit AES.
The bottom line is that my gut feeling tells me this is breakable, if it’s anything at all. I shall give it a go one of these days and let you folks know what happens. In the meantime, any of you want to have a go at it programmatically, here’s the text for your convenience:
CCBA DAHIJ EFGABI
BICGHG BACHEFG CBA
HCIBCG FECAB BBCEG
AIBG DE GGJC BEGD
GFHABA JCGEF BCDEF
IIGHCA ECCFG DEJJJ
HICEF ICBCA AAFFG CJ
EGA BCADD BBAI DJJ
UPDATE: Alex pointed out that the chinese words scribbled in blue at the top, “Xian Xin Liang Ku” (闲心良苦) could well be a taunt. It’s a take on a common Chinese phrase “Yong Xin Liang Ku” (用心良苦) which loosely means that someone has given a lot of thought or put a lot of effort into something. “Xian Xin” here means “an idle heart / mind”.
UPDATE: Whamdangler from TotalFark pointed out that the second word is “JIHAD” spelt backwards. Coincidence?
Also, he sez “2210 30789 456018 182676 1027456 210 728126 54201 11246 0816 34 6692 1463 657010 92645 12345 886720 42256 34999 78245 82120 00556 29 460 12033 1108 399
That’s the code in numbers, if anyone cares. Note, it’s 0-9 instead of 1-10″
UPDATE: I_C_Weener from TotalFark figures, “My guess is its a substitution cipher, but after each substitution, you rotate to the next letter.
So, the first time, J = A, and the second time you see J, it = B. That is how you have words with 2 or 3 of the same letter.
But, if I deciphered it for you, where would be the fun.
Here is a hint: The first line is ‘For a good time call….’”
UPDATE: Micheal Slater has kindly recommended this frequency-analysis tool. I’ll give it a shot and see if anything turns up.
In other news:
On my way home from work, I alighted at Outram Park and crossed the road via the overhead bridge in order to catch a bus home. On the stairs leading down from the bridge was this woman dressed in a pink spag-strap top and really short, thin shorts. She was… erm… oversized. She was also desparately grabbing at her arse in an effort to remove a wad of panty-cloth which had become stuck between those huge cheeks. She dug and yanked all the way down the stairs, her lopsided waddle imparting unto her thighs secondary motion usually only associated with pachyderms or various porcine beasts.
She dug and yanked all the way to the bus stop.
If they made a documentary about her it could be titled Cellulite on Celluloid, but they’d need IMAX film to do it.
Pass the eye bleach please.
Gary :: Aug.27.2006 ::
Bitchin', All the news that's fit to print, w00t!, Crypto ::
6 Comments »
Kryptos, for the unaware, is a hulking metallic sculpture sitting in the CIA’s Langley headquarters and is designed by American artist James Sanborn. It is made to resemble a large scroll divided into four sections, each bearing a ciphertext. This interesting structure has intrigued CIA employees and multitudes of cryptanalysts since its dedication in November 1990. 