Cicada 3301: An Internet Mystery

On January 4, 2012, a 4chan member posted this image. to the famous page board /b/ or to the random board. The anonymous author, who used the four-digit pseudonym

3301

, challenged other members to discover a hidden message within the image. Unbeknownst to those caught up in it, someone had set in motion the action of one of the most elaborate outdoor games the Internet had ever seen. Within minutes of the image being posted, someone discovered that if you opened the document with a text editor, a human-readable text string was attached. The string contained a code that, when deciphered, created a link to another photo.

At first this seemed like the end, but using an app called OutGuess, members were able to extract information attached to the image. Information taken from a subreddit that contained information about a book. The book, along with a code, would be used to discover a mobile number that, when dialed, would listen to this first recorded message. Very good. You have done a great job. There are three numbers associated with the original FINAL.JPG image

3301

is one of them. You must find the other two. Multiply the three numbers and add a .com at the end to find the next step.

Good luck! Bye bye! The next day, the first image was published on the Internet. A growing community of computer chair detectives seeks to solve this elaborate

mystery

, but no one was sure what to do with it. What was the

mystery

about? Who was behind him? What happens when you reach the end? Some naturally thought it was a well thought out prank and on the other hand, others took it as a complicated mystery as evidence against the fact that it could be the work of a troll. Rumors soon began to circulate that this could be the work of a secret society or an intelligence agency that was targeting the status of people who were experts in cryptography, steganography, and any other field related to these two.

Of course, it was nothing more than a rumor. The two missing numbers that were mentioned in the previous call turn out to be the dimensions of the original figure. After multiplying the latitude and longitude by 3301 and using the result as a web page, members would go to a page. This page contained a clock going backwards and also a picture of

cicada

s. When the clock hit zero, the page updated with a list of coordinates. The coordinates were destinations around the world. 14 destinations in 5 different countries. Now it was the turn of the participants who lived near the coordinates to get up from their comfortable chairs and find out.

Those who believed that Cicada was the work of an organization now feel that their beliefs have been justified. In his opinion, only an international group had the resources to make a discovery of this magnitude. This was not the work of your average prankster. No, that should be something else. At each destination there was a sign with the

cicada

symbol and a QR code. ...on the bike rack here. Look, I got it... I got it here. You can see the corners, I accidentally removed it with a little force. The codes were linked to an image, the image contained a geotext, the geotext contained a book, and the book contained a web page.

But here, the mystery took an unexpected turn. Only the first group of visitors to this website were admitted to the final part of the mystery. The page was eventually shut down with the message: "We want the best, not the followers." The finalists were also warned not to cooperate with others or share information about this private part of the mystery. Well, just because we know this, it's safe to say that not everyone heeds that warning. But those considered apparently advanced to the final stages before reaching the end of the mystery. After a month of silence, an image appeared on the subreddit announcing the conclusion of the mystery and thus ended the search.

Cicada was believed to have found the "superintelligent individuals" they were looking for, and what happened to them is a mystery, but more on that later. The small explanation seemed like confirmation that this mystery had been nothing more than a simple waste of everyone's time. After all, the questions raised about the original photo remain unanswered. What was the mystery? Who was behind this? What happened when you got to the end? However, it later turned out that this was just the beginning. Whoever was behind this complicated game had the foresight to include an authentication code called a PGP signature attached to each piece of data.

This allows members to verify that this image or message actually comes from Cicada, unlike some scammers looking to spoil or steal the mystery. Cicada had periodically warned about these "fake routes" and insisted that any messages that did not have the correct PGP signature must be validated locally. That's why this photo, published exactly one year and one day after the first, caused such a stir. After a year of useless imitations, this photo has finally been cross-checked with the original PGP signature. The cicada had returned and now it was time for the second part. The second mystery is not that it was very different from the first.

The image had a message, the message was contained in a book, the book created a link and little by little the mystery was revealed. At one point, a song called "The Instar Emergence" was revealed. Another gave the link to a secret Twitter account, which then linked to an image. The image turned out to be a vital mystery move, but the inclusion of this runic alphabet would remain a mystery for a long time. Unlike the first mystery, the second delves into the real world when a list of coordinates forces the participants, once again, to go out into the street to look for the enigmatic posters.

This time there were 8 destinations in 4 different countries. But eventually the game calmed down again. Another group of early arrivals were admitted to the mystery section. Unlike the first mystery, the second did not contain an official message from Cicada. The game was no longer heard and Cicada disappeared once again, leaving us without an explanation. However, this was not the end. At the beginning of 2014 it was time for the third round. Once again the image had a message, the message was linked to a book, the book created a link, and suffice to say it was the same thing.

Except this time, the mystery revolved around a strange book. The book was titled "Liber Primus", which means First Book in Latin, and appeared to have been written by Cicada. The Runic Alphabet, which came out in 2013, finally made sense because the book was written in the Runic alphabet. Although, the meaning of the translated pages was cryptic at best. The book contained several philosophical and ideological ideas and seemed to be his manifesto. Many have compared the strange writing to that of a cult. However, the book yielded a large amount of data and code. For example, this site advises participants to look for a site on the "Black Internet", but the site has not yet been discovered.

Another page directed you to a page containing another song titled "Interconnectedness." However, an important part of the book has yet to be translated. The runic text on some of the pages is blurred by layers of encryption that have yet to be deciphered. Of the 74 pages containing the runic language, only 19 pages have been successfully translated. As 2015 came and ended without the beginning of a new mystery, many begin to suspect that the book "Liber Primus" must be finished for Cicada to return. This was accidentally confirmed in early 2016 when Cicada requested a review of the book. More than four years have passed with minimal progress and almost total silence from Cicada.

Questions have been raised about the original photo and ignored. What is the purpose of these mysteries? Who is behind them? What happens when you reach the end? When the first photo appeared on 4chan back in 2012, many thought that Cicada 3301 was an alternate reality game created by a corporation to promote a new service or product. For example, Microsoft created a well-thought-out alternate reality game in 2001 to promote the movie Artificial Intelligence, and similar marketing has since been used to promote the game Halo 2. But the constant publication of these mysteries and the complete lack of advertising has suddenly eliminated that possibility.

If we choose to believe some of the information gleaned from the final, private phase of each mystery, we gain insight into who this group might be. For example, at the end of the first mystery, the finalists are supposed to have received this email. In it, Cicada describes itself as an international group that believes privacy is a mandatory right. The goal of each mystery is to employ like-minded people to try to create solutions to privacy problems. The email then contains 3 questions. The PGP company, which confirmed the authenticity of the email, was later deleted by the person who extracted the email.

If there is an online version with the right company, I couldn't find it. But even from its legality, I find this question a little strange. It says: "Do you think information should be free?" Assuming the answer is yes, then the first sentence saying... "DO NOT DISTRIBUTE THIS INFORMATION" ...seems a little hypocritical. While the idea of ​​a secret society finding people using sophisticated cryptography seems a bit absurd or even conspiratorial, it is not entirely untenable. Similar techniques have been used by similar corporations and governments since World War II. In 2013, an intelligence agency in Britain started a recruitment program called "Can You Find Him?" Participants had to decipher a series of cryptograms hidden on the Internet, and those who managed to solve the mystery completely won a prize or a position in the agency.

Google did something similar with advertising in 2004, and the US Marines started a very similar project in 2014. Okay, but then what about the employees? Why haven't we heard from these chosen few? Well, we've heard it. The thing is that it is almost impossible to separate a true finalist from an imposter. In 2015, in an interview with "Rolling Stone", two finalists who were supposed to be the winners of the first mystery chronicle the events after the final stage. After receiving an email from Cicada, they went to a forum on the "Black Internet." There they were able to communicate with around twenty employees and also with a good part of some founding members of Cicades.

He told them that Cicada 3301 was created by a group of friends who had the same ideas about security, privacy and censorship. The goal of this was to work as a collective to create applications with this idea. As friends hired friends, this secret society quickly expanded into a decentralized international organization. Employees were then tasked with inventing a program that fit the group's ideas, and Cicada members watched their progress. But without the lure of a mystery to solve, employees quickly lose interest. At the end of 2012 only one of them remained, later the site was closed. They never heard from Cicada again.

One of the two winners, named "Markus Wanner", explains further in a video by YouTuber "Noks Populaj". Also, Noks Populaj himself says that he is one of the winners of the second mystery, so I contacted him and this is what he will tell us. After completing the final stage of the second mystery, Noks Populai received an invitation to join Cicada 3301. However, he was not invited to a site but was told to be patient. Then, starting in May 2013, all communications with the Cicada disappeared. This was around the same time that the first winners page randomly disappeared. Noks Populai later contacted the other winners of the second mystery to see the changes in the score and their experience was identical.

In his words: "All the stories were the same, we were invited to join 3301, then something happened and the silence came from a request for patience. Nox Populai assumed that at least 5 others completed the second mystery compared to the first 20" . winners Regarding who or what Cicada is, Noks Populai believes that they may be a remnant of the "Cyberpunk" movement of the late 80s and 90s. Basically, a small group of activists advocating the use of strong cryptography and enhancement technology. of privacy, but he admits it. There is no exact way to know. If you want to know more about these mysteries than my summary, Noks Populai has produced several videos on his channel that I highly recommend.

While these accounts cannot be verified, they make a compelling case for what Cicada is. A group of anonymous creators looking to create a privacy group by finding people talented in crypto mysteries. Of course, it doesn't even come close to the shadow of a government seeking to conquer the world, one of the most fantastic theories, but it is still the most reliable. You should keep in mind that no part of these mysteries would need more than one person. Posters are often seen as signs that this must be the work of an international organization, but I ask you to think differently.I mean, now I can use any service number to hire random people around the world to create some posters for me.

Although the signs are said to have been placed no more than an hour from the airport, it makes me suspect that one or more people have actually traveled to these destinations. I mean, some of the signs were located within walking distance of the international airport. The fact that everyoneWith a stable income and enough free time, can be prepared to create the illusion that a secret network is taking over the world. I'm not saying this is the case with Cicada 3301, but it's not a possibility you can't take into account. Having said all this, I personally believe that it is a group of privately minded people who have a hobby for crypto;

This is the most convincing explanation that Cicada made his last statement in April 2017, just a disinformation warning, but the current status of the mystery third and the possibility of a fourth remains a mystery.