Cryptanalysis Challenge 2009
Can You Crack a Code?
Try Your Hand at Cryptanalysis
12/24/09
We’ve challenged you before—in November 2007, December 2008, and May 2009—to unravel a code and reveal its secret message like the “cryptanalysts” in our FBI Laboratory.
In our latest quiz, we’ve switched gears a bit, using pictogram symbols based on Native American motifs. And with more than 50 words to decipher, it’s our longest one so far.
For the first time, we’re also posting the answer (see the bottom of this page) in case you are stumped. We ask, however, that you not post the solution on the web so that everyone can have a chance to give it a try.
Once again: If you want a primer on basic cipher systems and how to break them, see the article “Analysis of Criminal Codes and Ciphers.”
Good luck!
Note: Sorry, but cracking this code doesn’t guarantee you a job with the FBI! But do check out careers with us at FBIJobs.gov.
To learn more about code-breaking in the FBI: