The story surrounding the creation of Bitcoin is one of mysterious origins. It places a certain magnetic intrigue around this incredible technology. In October of 2008, a person going by the name ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ published a white paper detailing how a cryptocurrency called Bitcoin could be used in a more …
Article by John Davis Who must keep secrets? We’d all agree spies, diplomats, and government leaders would, of course. Then there are lovers, religious groups, and businessmen who must keep their dealings private. All of these share a need for codes and cyphers. Where and when did they begin to …
Guest Post by BellosTheMighty As we all know, most armchair treasure hunts start with a book, or some other physical media. But some have started off as video games or other born-digital media. With the day off from work, I’ve been sitting at home bored and decided to make a …
Declassified from the NSA files for the first time in 1977, the Friedman Lectures on Cryptology included a puzzling note that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt received in 1935 by an anonymous author. Although part of this cryptic note has been deciphered, one part remains unsolved. Can you solve it? The …
Although maybe not considered an official type of code to hide secrets, the acronymic process can be used in certain ways and situations to conceal messages, clues, and hints in treasure hunts or other mysteries. The word Acronym is officially defined as a word formed from the initial letters of …
The mystery of Rennes le Chateau involves two coded parchments claimed to have been found by Berenger Sauniere in 1887 while restoring his church. Much controversy surrounds the discovery, as well as the meaning to the hidden messages found on the parchments. The purpose of this article is to only …
There are many variations or types of substitution ciphers. One of the more simpler types is a number cipher. A number cipher is where a number takes the place of a letter in the alphabet. This can be done by numbering each letter of the alphabet, 1 thru 26, and …
In many puzzle sections of newspapers are found a fun type of puzzle called a Cryptogram. Most often these Cryptogram challenges use a simple form of substitution cipher. A substitution cipher is where each letter is replaced by a different symbol (letter, number, or other character). Cryptograms in newspapers are …
One of the most popular word games of today is Scrabble. Like Monopoly, almost everyone has at least heard of the game Scrabble, and recognizes the letter tiles and board used for play. What might not be known is the invention of Scrabble was inspired by the Cipher used in …
The breaking of the cipher of Mary, Queen of Scots, had grave circumstances and stands testament today for the need of nonpareil security. Passing messages, from one party to another, consisting of information of highly delicate and valuable nature, is something not always avoidable. For this reason, the making and …
