The Playfair cipher was invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone and popularized by Baron Lyon Playfair. It is relatively easy to learn and to use with only pencil and paper. It was used during combat in WWII for messages who’s relevance was short lived. I enjoy this cipher mainly because traditionally it’s written down in pairs […]
Defcon 21 Badge Challenge Walkthrough Part 4
Welcome to part 4. Bellow is all the webpages and what was on them. The Program ———– The first few paragraphs of the badge page on the program were actually the lyrics to the song “Tradition” from the musical Fiddler On The Roof with some words changed to make it sound like it was talking […]
Defcon 21 Badge Challenge Walkthrough Part 3
Floor Puzzles =================== Clock Face ————— The symbols are Rod Numerals ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_rods#Rod_numerals ) turned sideways every other digit. When converted to letters reads: defcon, 21, keyword, orrery which leads to: https://www.defcon.org/1o57/dc21/orrery Skull Puzzle —————— The symbols on the skull puzzle are actually from another “Chain of Death” cipher from The Shadow http://www.nku.edu/~christensen/section%205%20symbols.pdf You read it […]
Defcon 21 Badge Challenge Walkthrough Part 2
Posters: ================= There are 7 posters with cipher text. 4 labeled with numbers that when converted from dec to ascii are labeled J, A, C, and K, and three with key holes. Numbered Posters ———————– – 74 “J” (Social Engineering Village): VEVMRUBLFDZMGGLYVORVEV LMVLUGSVQZXPHWLVHMGYVO (can be decoded with atbash) => EVENIFYOUWANTTOBELIEVE ONEOFTHEJACKSDOESNTBEL – 65 “A” (Wireless […]
Defcon 21 Badge Challenge Walkthrough Part 1
I was in one of two teams that completed the Defcon Badge Challenge this year. In part one of this walkthrough I’ll provide solutions for the Lanyard and the Badges. Part 2 will have the Posters. Enjoy! Lanyards: ================= All four lanyards laid out have a bass clef and then a series of dots that […]
The Science of Secrecy: Introduction and Future of Cryptography
From the description: Join Imperial’s Institute for Security Science and Technology for an informative presentation on codes, ciphers and computers. Professor Richard Aldrich, Dr Martin Knight, Professor Sir Peter Knight and Dr Simon Singh take you on a tour of cryptography through the ages. From its beginnings in pen and paper to its future in […]