"When Mr Sanborn was commissioned to create a sculpture for the CIA's new headquarters, he wanted to include a code that would remain unsolved for five to 10 years. Mr Sandborn didn't create the codes himself, but rather enlisted the help of Edward Scheidt, the retiring chairman of the CIA's Cryptographic centre known as the 'Wizard of Codes'. Together, the pair created four progressively difficult encryption techniques designed to hide a message on the theme of concealment and discovery."
"According to the CIA, the first three sections were encrypted using a fairly common type of code known as a Vigeneries Tableaux. This type of code shifts each letter of the alphabet by a certain amount, depending on the contents of an accompanying 'chart'. The first two messages using this code are considered to be relatively straightforward and can be solved by beginner cryptographers."
Kryptos is a curved copper sculpture outside the CIA's Langley headquarters, carved with 1,735 letters that conceal four encrypted messages. The artist Jim Sanborn and Edward Scheidt designed four progressively harder ciphers themed on concealment and discovery. The first three passages were encrypted using a Vigeneries Tableaux and have been solved; the final passage, K4, remains unsolved and only Sanborn knows its plain text. Sanborn is auctioning the translated K4 text and all coding charts after 35 years of custody. The auction winner can reveal or withhold the translation; the estimate is $300,000–$500,000.
Read at Mail Online
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