200-Year-Old Cipher Finally Cracked

Attila Dimedici writes "A code expert just cracked a code used by a friend of Thomas Jefferson in a letter written to Jefferson some 200 years ago. This code is fairly easy to crack using a computer, but extremely difficult without one. I think it would have been much harder if the author had not included an indication as to what code algorithm he used in the letter accompanying the coded message."

Comments

tl;dr

[Anonymous Coward]

The message says:

"In Congress, July Fourth, one thousand seven hundred and seventy six. A declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. When in the course of human events..."

Re:tl;dr

[morgan_greywolf]

FTFA:

After about a week of working on the puzzle, the numerical key to Mr. Patterson's cipher emerged -- 13, 34, 57, 65, 22, 78, 49.

Hey! That's the combination to my luggage!

Wake me when the Voynich is cracked

[netsavior]

the Voynich manuscript is a much more compelling and difficult mystery.

just cracked??

[macxcool]

A code expert just cracked a code

The article says "After unlocking its hidden message in 2007". This is hardly 'just'. The solution was more recently published though. Interesting article.

Re:just cracked??

[gEvil (beta)]

What? You actually expect the article submitter to RTFA?

Contents of message

[wjousts]

"Hey Jefferson, you might want to try keeping it in your pants. I saw that slave girl today and she's starting to show. People will start asking questions."

Re:Security by obscurity

[phantomfive]

Obscurity IS a level of security, which is good, but it's only one level. Hopefully you have a security system that is robust enough that even when the obscurity is pierced, it is still secure. In the past when people complain about Microsoft depending on security through obscurity, they were referring to the fact that Windows was at one time so insecure that it was only a matter of obscurity that gave it any security at all. That isn't to say obscurity is all bad for security.

In this case, unless you knew the key, it would have been extremely time consuming to discover the solution, even if you knew the algorithm used. Notice it took the guy a week to solve it, even with a computer, and modern cryptanalysis techniques.

Could have been done earlier

[houghi]

... but they had to wait for the copyright to expire.

Zodiac Killer 360

[Korey Kaczor]

The elusive Zodiac Killer's 360 character cipher was never cracked, either, and it's been decades since he mailed it to newspapers. That cipher also seems a bit grid-like, with spacing made deliberately in rows. I wonder if this method would help, at least in part, in cracking it?

If anything, would be nice to see something come up to ascertain his identity, and if alive, put him behind bars.