Crypto contest - Info page

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--> Crypto contest - Info page Crypto Contest
Summary, links, news ...
last modified : 10/12/99 New : playfair.zip updated

BTW : news from +Fravia faint sounds from far away

NOVA sets the rules

The rules : crack the Cipher's NOVA Online Decoding Nazi Secrets
Jim Gillogly, who has been called "arguably the best non-government cryptanalyst in the U.S." in the field of classical (historical) cryptosystems, offers three World War II-style ciphers of different levels of difficulty for viewers to try to break over a two-week period (Nov. 5-19).

The ciphers : the task
Three ciphers are to decode, here's what they say :
Here's your chance to crack ciphers similar to those Bletchley Park's codebreakers faced during World War II. Below, we present three ciphers of different levels of difficulty, from easiest to most challenging. Cryptanalyst Jim Gillogly created them using the Playfair, Double Playfair, and Double Transposition ciphers, respectively. In the opening paragraph for each challenge, we link to instructions regarding each cipher, which should help you along.
While these ciphers will be up indefinitely, between November 5 and 19, 1999, NOVA Online will host a special Cipher Contest. As soon as you have a solution to any of the three enciphered messages below, send it to NOVA. We will keep track of when solutions come in and from whom for a Codebreaker Hall of Fame to be posted at the end of the contest. At this time, Gillogly will also offer solutions to the challenges and comments on viewers' submissions. Good luck!

The solutions : now for all tasks

Our essays :
The story of our crusade and more by all of us, collected and brushed up by Laurent
reconstruction of a playfair-matrix by Mersene
c program by Laurent

Additional service : all (4) collected c-programs + 1 Basic-pgm + 1Pascal-pgm zipped

Hints and help, Part One
(everything concerning the first crackme)

1. The message, separated into pairs :
VY TE SY ED LU TE RV LF NV UH DW AR DL CF FB SD EW NP XK IC
FT RE OL KA LZ YL SL TO BK EV LY AR MK RB OD NA LD YP LA ET
OL QA DF HS FZ WN AI DS MU RU OL HR YL LO TW FY LD IC VL US
VS SF ZY LU NF FX LK TG BC DO BF AL EW RP FY WL HU LD AR LI
TF LA BF FZ CY FU UF BG XX XX

2. The hints
2.1 His recognition code should appear in the message: It is "beware ice weasels."
2.2 If he is operating under duress, he should include the phrase "red penguin frenzy."
2.3 He will use "STOP" between sentences and "END" at the end.
2.4 he is carrying materials to assist a previously dropped team in their work regarding the Norsk Hydro facility at Rjukan.

The Threads
Additional service : complete threads as .html-files
(everything concerning the first crackme)
ZERO : TheBoard
ONE : THREAD : WWII ciphers
TWO : THREADs : wrapping / patterns from hints / road to nowhere
THREE : THREADs : Road to nowhere .. revisited / First thoughts / New pattern
FOUR : THREADs : Visual Aid / The Fundamentals / in seek of a new road
FIVE : THREADs : playfair cryptoanalysis/ whre's the problem at now / those bloody weasels
SIX : THREADs : 'penguin...' possible positions / Links to crypto software / 97 == NOPE
SEVEN : THREADs : Quick thoughts... / just another rule/ Tried a different approach Does it make sense?
EIGHT : THREADs : Possible rule / Five block / something of interest
NINE : THREADs : lone wolf rule / actual thoughts
TEN : THREADs : sure /
ELEVEN : THREADs : weazels

The Playfair Cipher and The Double Transposition Key : Information links
(unsorted, mostly uncommented) ~ added : general crypto-links

http://www.hamwic.co.uk/index2.html	~
http://raphael.math.uic.edu/~jeremy/crypt/contrib/hong.html	~
http://raphael.math.uic.edu/~jeremy/crypt/contrib.html	even more ciphers
http://members.magnet.at/wilhelm.m.plotz/Doc/Playfair.html	~
http://members.magnet.at/wilhelm.m.plotz/Bin/	Java applets
http://www.ftech.net/~monark/crypto/crypt/playfair.htm	~
http://www.optonline.com/comptons/ceo/01004_A.html	~
http://bora.dacom.co.kr/~gausmath/playfair.htm	~
http://www-math.cudenver.edu/~wcherowi/courses/m5410/m5410.html	~
http://www.sxrb.com/gl/books/Cipher/chap01.htm	~
http://www.achiever.com/freehmpg/cryptology/dutran.html	double transposition
http://www.achiever.com/freehmpg/cryptology/lessons.html	goldmine !
http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~duncan/compsec/Slides/Qcrypt.htm	~
http://www.und.nodak.edu/org/crypto/crypto/lanaki.crypt.class/lessons/	very good
http://samsara.law.cwru.edu/comp_law/jvd/cryptolinks.html	links to crypto software, a playfair.c included
http://jya.com/crypto-free.htm	INTERNATIONAL CRYPTOGRAPHY FREEDOM
http://www.und.nodak.edu/org/crypto/crypto/army.field.manual/separate.chaps/	~
http://www.und.nodak.edu/org/crypto/crypto/aca.info/computer.supplements/issue18.zip	another C-program
http://web.inter.nl.net/users/jws/puzzles.html	playfair.c and other goodies

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