A cryptography contest

Ken Harthun — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 23:05:54 +0000

Huge kudos (and an as-yet-unspecified major award) go to the first person who deciphers the following message (hint–the photo is the key to the source of the message):

53‡‡†305))6*;4826)4‡.)4‡);806*;48†8¶60))85;1‡(;:‡*8†83(88)5*†;46(;88*96*?;8)*‡(;485);5*†2:*‡(;4956*2(5*—4)8¶8*;4069285);)6†8)4‡‡;1(‡9;48081;8:8‡1;48†85;4)485†528806*81(‡9;48;(88;4(‡?34;48)4‡;161;:188;‡?;

Post your comment with the cleartext here. The solution will be posted tomorrow on Halloween.

Happy Halloween!

Ken Harthun — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:37:15 +0000

IMHO, no writer in history embodies the essence of Halloween more that Edgar Allen Poe whom I consider the creator of the horror genre (yes, I know he’s credited as the creator of detective-fiction and contributor to the science fiction genre but he dealt more in the macabre than anything else).

Poe’s short story, “The Gold Bug,” is what got me interested in ciphers and encryption as a young boy; a collection of his most popular short stories is what inspired me to become a writer.

So, on this Halloween 2011 I present a very special reading of Poe’s famous poem, “The Raven.” Enjoy!

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/rIckeYVuMC0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Security Corner » Edgar Allen Poe

A cryptography contest

Happy Halloween!