Cicada 3301 2014 has begun as mentioned in "your favourite unsolved mystery".

I have been following this wikia about cicada 3301. To be honest, it's pretty mind blowing, the craftmanship behind it. Would love to know who is behind it.

More info here.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/10468112/The-internet-mystery-that-has-the-world-baffled.html

http://uncovering-cicada.wikia.com/wiki/CICADA_3301_2014_PUZZLE#comm-3853

J_E

Is this like an Alternate Reality Game crypto sort of thing? Could you give us any background on it?

The Backwards Man

Never has a smilie been more appropriate;

biko

Cicadas, alternatively spelled as Cicala or Cicale, are insects in the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Cicadas are in the superfamily Cicadoidea.

People at first thought it was an alternative reality game but then for one part of the puzzle, you had to decode co-ordinates which were as far apart as Japan to the US to europe and there was a QR code placed there. It would have taken huge organisational skill.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/10468112/The-internet-mystery-that-has-the-world-baffled.html

This article will probably explain it better.

J_E

I'd imagine it's just a group of enthusiasts who thoroughly enjoy cryptography and ARG games.

or

A privacy-focused internet group who are devising anti-government measures and this is how they recruit. Or even NSA or whatever.

The Backwards Man

Deleted User wrote: »

People at first thought it was an alternative reality game but then for one part of the puzzle, you had to decode co-ordinates which were as far apart as Japan to the US to europe and there was a QR code placed there. It would have taken huge organisational skill.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/10468112/The-internet-mystery-that-has-the-world-baffled.html

This article will probably explain it better.

Yeah, that explains everything.

Sir Arthur Daley

Are they like the Healy raes?

J_E

Read through the Wiki, for anyone interested, they're currently trying to find an RSA private key that will decrypt an email that has the next clue. They've got a factor and need two primes. That'll unlock the contents.

(no, I'm not 100% sure what that entails either! Basically a lot of computer number crunching and brute-forcing.)

Daqster

Cicada has just begun?

Nonsense, sure they Cicada almost every day down the family courts.

J_E

No mystery is better than the one of The Safe anyway.

Bipolar Joe

I've been a "Part" of 3301 since 2012, doing some brute forcing and number crunching. Really fun, if you don't mind getting frustrated often and using your brain a whole lot.

batistuta9

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

I've been a "Part" of 3301 since 2012, doing some brute forcing and number crunching. Really fun, if you don't mind getting frustrated often and using your brain a whole lot.

did you every find out what happened to the people who solved it/whatever you want to call it?

Bipolar Joe

Just rumours. A few people who got to meetings and gave away info don't take part any more. I'm not smart enough to be higher up, just a dude who loves to play ARGs.

Paddy Cow

Crack the code, follow the white rabbit and then the only thing you have to decide is whether to take the red pill or the blue pill :cool:

BillyMitchel

Hate these threads that make me feel stupid.

Any pictures?!

J_E

Jesus, been hooked on this since I checked out the Wiki, you've ruined my life for the next 2 weeks OP...

FouxDaFaFa

I don't have the skill to actually partake but I do love hearing about the latest goings on.

Cydoniac

Cydoniac wrote: »

Jesus, been hooked on this since I checked out the Wiki, you've ruined my life for the next 2 weeks OP...

Same here. Some genii at work on the wiki.

FouxDaFaFa

What do people make of the theory that Cicada are the creators of Bitcoin?

FouxDaFaFa

FouxDaFaFa wrote: »

What do people make of the theory that Cicada are the creators of Bitcoin?

Why so? Hadn't heard the theory. This because of the cryptography?

Oryx

Has anyone who solved previous puzzles given any indication as to what it is about?