So really this is just a link to a few articles and some other information that has been floating around since 2012 about some group of people that have been trying to solve an internet mystery. I came across this from once again the DC404 email group. Apparently, there has been a string of challenging cryptography and steganography puzzles that first appeared on a random forum. The article below explains how a security researcher discovered this cryptographic puzzle and attempted to work through it to the end:
The Telegraph: The Internet Mystery that has the World Baffeled
Though the security researcher never made it to the deadline, others did and interestingly enough more codes will be uploaded this upcoming year on January 4th, 2014.
The messages from the actual uploaders seem to say that they are recruiting intelligent people for something but what that something is no one, except for the last couple of people to crack the codes in 2012, knows. For that matter, no one knows who the group is that started this and what their motivations are. Many have speculated that it’s coming from the NSA or even the group Anonymous. According to WikiPedia, authorities in Chile actually claim that Cicada 3301 is actually a hacker group involved in illegal activities.
The search for these answers led people all over the world to find clues about what this all meant. People on 4chan and reddit spent days of their lives trying to crack these codes. It actually took a whole community of people to solve some of the coding.
It will be very interesting to see if there are more puzzles uploaded in the new year and if we can find out some more information about the people that did this.
Here is some more information you can find on how this all transpired:
Uncovering Cicada – This includes all of the cryptography/steganography and physical clues.
