  Mystery
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"We can factor the number 15 with quantum computers. We can also factor the number 15 with a dog trained to bark three times."
-- Robert Harley, 5/12/01, Sci.crypt.
"The Pentagon's top civil servant believes that no two people in the world have a 'God-given right' to communicate in total secrecy. Man, who spit in his Cheerios?"
-- Bruce Schneier
"The multiple human needs and desires that demand privacy among two or more people in the midst of social life must inevitably lead to cryptology wherever men thrive and wherever they write."
-- David Kahn, The Codebreakers. |
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Last week I covered monoalphabetic codes. This week we will take a look at polyalphabetic ones. In polyalphabetic ciphers, "different symbols (letters or numbers) can stand for the same letter, and the same symbols can stand for different letters."*
Basically, polyalphabetic ciphers are more difficult to crack.
Some popular ones include: Porta's Cipher, The Playfair Cipher, and the Vigenere Cipher. They all use charts to make and break their codes.
Lewis Carroll, author and mathematician, wrote a version of the Vigenere Cipher. There is another version, written by Sir Francis Beaufort, that is considered easier. But, let's take a look at Carroll's version.  First, we'll need a matrix:
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Second, we need a key word. Let's use WRITING.
Last week, we needed to write out the alphabet and a shifted version of the alphabet. This time we'll need to write the key word multiple times above a message we wish to encode:
W R I T I N G W R I T I N G W R I T I N G W R I T I N G
S T E V E S L U C K R A N O U T N E E D N E W A G E N T
I had a hard time making the letters match up evenly on the screen, so I ended up color-coding the corresponding letters. Take a look and note how S=W, T=R, E=I, V=T, and so on.
To encode this message, we will use the chart. Take the first letter of the message, S, and note that W is its key counterpart. Then, look for W in the top column and find row S. Where the column and row intersect, you will see O. "Steve's luck ran out, need new agent," would look like this after being encoded:
OKMOMG RQTS KIA UQK VXMQ TAN IZMAZ
To make it a little more difficult for those without the key word to break, consider molding the encoded message into even chunks like this:
OKMO MGRQ TSKI AUQK VXMQ TANI ZMAZ
To revert this cryptogram to its original message, follow these steps:
1) Continuously write the key word above the encoded message. For instance, O will now equal W, K=R, M=I, and so on.
2) Take one letter at a time - if the letter above O is W, then find the column headed by W. Move down the W column until you spot O in the same column, and then travel left along the row until you reach S - the first letter in that row. Continue the same procedure for each letter.
Ready to crack another Vigenere cryptogram?
Use the keyword, FLY, to decode this message:
GPUFCCY SCRLLTQ MSPZTZI
Like last week, those members who send me the correct answer will be awarded 500 GPs.
For my next newsletter I hope to cover more examples concerning writing and sending secret messages.
* This quote was taken from Codes, Ciphers and Secret Writing.
On Another Note
My past newsletters have covered fingerprinting and DNA testing. DNA itself is considered a code and can be unique to an individual, just like fingerprints. I am pleased to say that a local mystery in my hometown was solved recently, using fingerprints and DNA.
I attended and graduated from the University at Buffalo (UB) in New York State, USA. Known nationally for annually hosting the world's largest mud volleyball tournament (Oozfest) and for being the setting for the first season of the MTV show Fraternity Life and the second season of Sorority Life, UB is also locally known for the Linda Yalem run, an annual activity held in honor of a woman who was killed by a rapist while jogging near the campus in 1990.
I have participated in the event, knowing, like most of the other participants, that Yalem's killer had never been caught.
Until now.
On January 15, the killer was apprehended, based on evidence compiled by a group of investigators. They staked out the suspect and were able to work with a local restaurant to obtain saliva and fingerprints from dinnerware that the man used.
He has apparently killed others as well, one victim as recently as September. It intrigues me to note that the suspect did not fit the investigators' typical serial killer profile - and the district attorney claims he is still puzzled by the killer's timing and movement.
If you are interested in reading more detail concerning the suspect's actions and apprehension, here is a link to a New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/nyregion/16suspect.html?pagewanted=all
I feel this is another case that proves anyone can be a suspect and that not all criminals follow a particular pattern.
However, science makes it easier for these criminals to get caught. |
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I would like to CONGRATULATE the following members for cracking last week's cryptogram:
They successfully translated FG RIR FNV QURF ERNYY L TBAAN XV YY ZR GUV FGV ZR to:
STEVE SAID HE'S REALLY GONNA KILL ME THIS TIME
Do you have any questions or comments regarding cryptography?
If so, please send them my way!  |
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Mystery: January 17, 2007 Issue [#1493]
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