The NSA cracked the Kryptos sculpture years before the CIA (2013) | Hacker News Reader

The NSA cracked the Kryptos sculpture years before the CIA (2013)

wired.co.uk

57 pointsnefitty25 comments

I feel like this headline is misleading. They've solved the first three parts, but not the last. I was really hoping that this article was going to say something about progress on the last section, commonly called K4.

If anybody is interested in Kryptos, I highly recommend Elonka Dunin's page: http://www.elonka.com/kryptos/

They might have solved K4 but the method used might be extremely classified, for example if it is AES-256 encrypted and they solved it, yeah, mass panic.

The CIA Fine Arts Commission?

Is there an FBI Jazz and Bebop Directorate?

It seems they've been busy: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/modern-art-was-cia-w... .

Was curious about this so I googled, but the results are less interesting than I'd hoped.

"CIA’s fine arts program—administered by its Fine Arts Commission since the 1960s—has benefited over the years from donations of sculptures and paintings that celebrate historical accomplishments in intelligence. The commission reviews donation proposals and, when it finds them appropriate, officially recommends works for acceptance."

via: https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intellig...

There have been a number of good HN threads (sorry I don't have links) on the CIA's history of promoting arts and letters—often by artists and writers who became distinguished later, indicating rather good taste at the CIA.

Or perhaps indicating that the CIA knows how to make an artist famous without it being traced back to them.

Does anyone know precisely what is at the location of the coordinates?

First thing I thought to do, as soon as I saw that 4th puzzle was unsolved, was to look at a map of the coordinates:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/38%C2%B057'06.5%22N+77%C2%...

Looks like it's a place on a sidewalk on the premises, so perhaps it's where a clue exists that makes it possible to solve K4?

It's in a courtyard inside the Langley headquarters.

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking more along the lines of high-resolution images of what is on the sidewalk at precisely those coordinates, or in the vicinity of those coordinates. Or if anyone on HN reading this thread has actually been there to see first-hand what's at those coordinates.

Inside that building is a no camera zone. :) getting imagery is tough.

I have been there. It's a tall rusty sculpture in a courtyard well inside Langley HQ. The only odd thing I noticed is that some letters are over or below the line. Can't take pictures or rubbings so not much else to report.

Superb example of inter-agency knowledge sharing and co-operation. So hopefully Iranian intelligence officers can work out how to have multiple handlers and multiple income streams and - cha-Ching!

/ bad mood /

Was half-expecting the story to say that the NSA just went to their tape database and re-listened to all phone calls made between Sanborn (sculptor) and Scheidt (CIA crypto resource).

This is what citizens' tax dollars pay for. How nice that public funds can so easily be used to pay people to do nothing.

I feel having people near this statue pause to reflect on the nature of art and beauty is some of the best use of my tax dollars in that area.

Would you rather federal employees work in some Kafka-esque grey cinder block 1984 Ministry type building?

Note that NSA HQ is literally a windowless black cube.

It doesn't appear to be windowless, it's just dark tinted glass.

I, for one, would prefer to have my tax dollars spent commissioning statues and other art, rather than buying bombs or weaponry of any sort.

False dichotomy.

What about if we bomb other countries with our art....

High-speed photography of explosions can be considered art. My point appears moot.

No, it is not. Parent is not suggesting there are only two options on which we may choose to spend public funds, but instead voicing a preference of a single specific option over another single specific option--with no mention of there not being millions more. Stating a preference for one of two isolated things is in no way a false dichotomy.

Sir, I believe you should then move to Iceland.

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