|
For the first time ever the FBI has asked the public for help in breaking encrypted code. In 1999 the body of 41-year-old Ricky McCormick was found in a field, the only available clues were two encrypted notes stuffed into his pockets, it is believed the victim himself wrote the notes three days before the murder.
The victim had been writing secret encrypted notes to himself since he was a boy. Deciphering these notes could lead to the location of the crime.
Here's the first note:
![[image loading]](http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/march/cryptanalysis_032911/image/gallery/encyphered-note/image_large)
Here's the second note:
![[image loading]](http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/march/cryptanalysis_032911/image/gallery/help-us-solve-this-encyphered-note/image_large)
At the moment there's no reward being offered by the FBI, but if you want to help out either post the solution here or send it directly to the FBI at:
FBI Laboratory
Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit
2501 Investigation Parkway
Quantico, VA 22135
Attn: Ricky McCormick Case
source:
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/march/cryptanalysis_032911
Feel free to discuss these two encrypted notes here, and if you think you've managed to decipher part of it that could be helpful too.
update: transcription of first note thx to kore:
Characters in red are the ones I'm not 100% sure of.
The "?" marks in red are the ones I have no idea what they are.
L01: (MNDMXNEMRSE.N.S.M.KNARE) (ALSM)
L02: TFRNENPtNSENPBSERCBRNSENPRSEINC
L03: PRSENMRSEDPREHLDWLDNCBE(TFXLFTCXLNCBE)
L04: AL-PRPPITXLYPRIYNCBEMGKSEWCDRCBRNSEPRSE
L05: WLDRCBRNSENTSBNENTXE.CRSLE.CLTRSEWLDNCBE
L06: ALWCDNCBETSMELRSERLSEURGLSNEASNWLDNCBE
L07: (NOPFSENLSRENCBE)NTEGDDMNSENCURERCBRNE
L08: (TENETFRNENCBPTSENCBElNQ)
L09: (FLRSEPQSEONDE71NCBE)
L10: (CDNSEPQSEONSDE74NCBE)
L11: (PQtSEPRSEONREDE7SNCBE)
L12: (TFNQCMSPSOLEMRDELUSETOTEWCDNWLDNCBE)
L13: (194WLD'SNCBE)(TRFXL)
Transcription of second note thx to double122:
ALPNTE GLSE-SE ER+E
VLSEMTSE-CTSE-WSE-FRTSE
PNTRTRSEONPRSEWLDNCBE
NWLDXLRCMSPNEWLDSTSMEXL
DVLMT6TUNSE NCBEC
(MUNSAISTENMUNARSE)
KLSE-LRSTE-TRSE-TRSE-MKSEN-MRSE
(SAE6NSESENMBSE)
NMNRCBRNSEP+E2PTEWSRCBRNSE
26MLSE74SPRKSE29KENOSOLE173R7RSE
356LECLGSEUUNUTREDKRSEPSESHLE
6S1MTCSEHTLSENCUTCTRSNMRE
99.84.B2UNEPLSENCRSEAOLTSENSKSENRSE
NSREOUSEPUTSEWLDUCBE(3XORL)
DNMSENRSEIN2NTRLERCBRNSENTSRCRBNE
LSPNSENGSPSEMKSERBSENCBEAVXLR
HMCRENMRESCBE 1/2MUNDDLSE
D-W-M-YHIL XDRLX
|
Seems like a fun time killer, I'll see what I can do, but you know it could always just be a bunch of random letters to confuse anyone investigating lol
EDIT: I actually can't even make out what half the letters are because of the sloppy writing, anyone care to take some guesses?
+ Show Spoiler +
Characters in red are the ones I'm not 100% sure of.
The "?" marks in red are the ones I have no idea what they are.
L01: (MNDMXNEMRSE.N.S.M.KNARE) (ALSM)
L02: TFRNENPtNSENPBSERCBRNSENPRSEINC
L03: PRSENMRSEDPREHLDWLDNCBE(TFXLFTCXLNCBE)
L04: AL-PRPPITXLYPRIYNCBEMGKSEWCDRCBRNSEPRSE
L05: WLDRCBRNSENTSBNENTXE.CRSLE.CLTRSEWLDNCBE
L06: ALWCDNCBETSMELRSERLSEURGLSNEASNWLDNCBE
L07: (NOPFSENLSRENCBE)NTEGDDMNSENCURERCBRNE
L08: (TENETFRNENCBPTSENCBElNQ)
L09: (FLRSEPQSEONDE71NCBE)
L10: (CDNSEPQSEONSDE74NCBE)
L11: (PQtSEPRSEONREDE7SNCBE)
L12: (TFNQCMSPSOLEMRDELUSETOTEWCDNWLDNCBE)
L13: (194WLD'SNCBE)(TRFXL)
|
this seems to be written in Latin characters only. So is anybody up for typing this and posting it here. That would make trying out algorithms easier. Like trying to find out the most common letter but I guess simple rotations are out of the question if the FBI has problems with it.
edit: and lest I forget Arabic numbers but I meant the Latin keyboard-layout, so whatever
|
It took 12 years for them to admit they needed help
|
I wonder if it's just nonsensical and has no meaning. It would be a good way for the murderer to throw off the investigation and make them spend time on something pointless.
|
if the FBI couldn't break this, I'm pretty sure this is pseudo code and the culprit is trolling us
EDIT: excellent post above mine
|
im guessing the FBI is just looking for dumb luck at this point, there is probably tons of misdirection in this "code"
|
On March 30 2011 08:43 Bigpet wrote:
this seems to be written in latin characters only. So is anybody up for typing this and posting it here. That would make trying out algorithms easier. Like trying to find out the most common letter but I guess simple rotations are out of the question if the FBI has problems with it.
its not latin only, there's · dots in it. These can be "typed" as well though.
|
On March 30 2011 08:47 MisterD wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 08:43 Bigpet wrote:
this seems to be written in latin characters only. So is anybody up for typing this and posting it here. That would make trying out algorithms easier. Like trying to find out the most common letter but I guess simple rotations are out of the question if the FBI has problems with it. its not latin only, there's · dots in it. These can be "typed" as well though.
I haven't taken Latin, and have no clue what Latin characters look like, but that looks a lot like the English alphabet..
|
On March 30 2011 08:45 Jonoman92 wrote:
I wonder if it's just nonsensical and has no meaning. It would be a good way for the murderer to throw off the investigation and make them spend time on something pointless.
this makes sense. If the FBI is asking the public, I'm pretty sure they have asked the "best code-breakers in the world"
|
What if the killer actually just legit used a RNG, picked some strings of letters, and called it a day sending everyone on a wild goose chase?
|
The first encryption job of actually managing to read those letters in the first would be more than I could motivate myself to. 
|
On March 30 2011 08:48 Jaso wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 08:47 MisterD wrote:On March 30 2011 08:43 Bigpet wrote:
this seems to be written in latin characters only. So is anybody up for typing this and posting it here. That would make trying out algorithms easier. Like trying to find out the most common letter but I guess simple rotations are out of the question if the FBI has problems with it. its not latin only, there's · dots in it. These can be "typed" as well though. I haven't taken Latin, and have no clue what Latin characters look like, but that looks a lot like the English alphabet..
The written English language uses the Latin alphabet and the Arabic numerals. I didn't say American alphabet because you have no guarantee that the note isn't written in another language that uses the Latin alphabet which is pretty much every European language (besides Greek and other exceptions).
|
On March 30 2011 08:45 Jonoman92 wrote:
I wonder if it's just nonsensical and has no meaning. It would be a good way for the murderer to throw off the investigation and make them spend time on something pointless.
Haven't read the article yet, but I assume the FBI could check the handwriting of the victim to see if it matched the note.
Edit: Here is the source article, I recommend using this instead of Yahoo version
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/march/cryptanalysis_032911/cryptanalysis_032911
It says he wrote encrytped notes since he was a kid, so unlikely to be something done by the seriel killer.
The more than 30 lines of coded material use a maddening variety of letters, numbers, dashes, and parentheses. McCormick was a high school dropout, but he was able to read and write and was said to be “street smart.” According to members of his family, McCormick had used such encrypted notes since he was a boy, but apparently no one in his family knows how to decipher the codes, and it’s unknown whether anyone besides McCormick could translate his secret language. Investigators believe the notes in McCormick’s pockets were written up to three days before his death.
|
Fascinating. Whether it's an attempt at trolling or it holds some value, it will be interesting to see how this pans out now it's public.
It's quite a shame though that the images aren't a higher res, it's going to be a PITA to translate some of those characters.
|
On March 30 2011 08:48 Jaso wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 08:47 MisterD wrote:On March 30 2011 08:43 Bigpet wrote:
this seems to be written in latin characters only. So is anybody up for typing this and posting it here. That would make trying out algorithms easier. Like trying to find out the most common letter but I guess simple rotations are out of the question if the FBI has problems with it. its not latin only, there's · dots in it. These can be "typed" as well though. I haven't taken Latin, and have no clue what Latin characters look like, but that looks a lot like the English alphabet..
Uhh... English is Latin-based.
|
Apparently the killer didn't write the notes, the victim did. The victim was a high school dropout but he had been "coding" notes since he was a boy. It is believed these two notes were written three days before his death, and could lead to the location of his death and help solve the crime.
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/march/cryptanalysis_032911
edit: BlackMagister beat me to it
|
Well, if they are really desperate and cannot do it themselves, why not ask the public for help?
Were not talking about some state security issue, but just about the death of one person.
And in the case that it actually means something, there is bound to be one guy who is crazy with this stuff out there who can solve this.
Or just hope that a ton of people try this and someone stumbles onto it by accident.
The only thing that stands out to me is that the combination of the letters "SRE" keeps coming back, combined with one other letter, mostly P or T.
and if I actually keep glancing over it, a lot of it actually seems connected in some way with the letter E.
But that is the furthest i'll probably ever get with this :p
|
On March 30 2011 08:49 TOCHMY wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 08:45 Jonoman92 wrote:
I wonder if it's just nonsensical and has no meaning. It would be a good way for the murderer to throw off the investigation and make them spend time on something pointless. this makes sense. If the FBI is asking the public, I'm pretty sure they have asked the "best code-breakers in the world"
Best code-breakers in the world that they KNOW of.
That's why they are asking the public now.
|
I'm suprised someone on TL hasn't given an answer within the first page yet.
o.O
|
|
|
One thing that throws me off a little, if the poor guy who was murdered wrote encrypted notes like this since a young age, shouldn't there be other encrypted writings of his somewhere which might show patterns he used or some clue as to how he encrypted his messages? Just a thought.
|
Well lets summon the Master Of Chaos. Should not take him long 
But in all seriousness, I doubt that anyone of us mortals can break the code (if there is one) without some more information. But as there is no more information and even the FBI could not solve it (I guess they are well equipped ? ) - we cant either.
|
Why am I suddenly reminded of multiple Alternate Reality Games that opened with a similar story?
. . .Actually I'll be surprised if the people at UnFiction don't crack this within a week.
|
Damn, it must be a dark day if the government turns to the likes of video game players to solve crimes. But lets do ittttttttt
|
Probably just his shopping list, doubt it really had anything to do with his killer, wasn't like he was being stalked for a week before hand and started writing everything down like a bad movie.
|
Maybe SE or BE = space? So many letters without any spaces, I think he might be using a code for spaces.
|
A little more background on the guy would help, such as did he speak/read/write any other language besides English, other letters he's written over the years to compare with and try to search for a base line, did he know any computer programming languages?
|
I'm updating my post (the one right after the OP) with what I think the letters are if anyone wants to give me feedback.
|
hmm.. someone should transcribe the message. Here´s a part of the second image (the NOTES one)
+ Show Spoiler +ALPNTE GLSE - SE ERTE
VLSE MTSE-CTSE-WSE-FRTSE
PNRTRSEONDRSEWLDNCBE
NWLDXLRCMSPNEWLDSTSmE
BULMTGTUNSENCBEX
(MENSASTENMUNARSE)
KLSE-LKSTE-TR SE-TRSE-MKSEN-MRSE
(SAEGNSESENMBSE)
NMNLCBRNSEPTEZNTEWSRCBK
|
On March 30 2011 09:06 Vansetsu wrote:
One thing that throws me off a little, if the poor guy who was murdered wrote encrypted notes like this since a young age, shouldn't there be other encrypted writings of his somewhere which might show patterns he used or some clue as to how he encrypted his messages? Just a thought.
Yeah the FBI article is very sparse on details so we don't know the reason. It could be because he burns or throws away his old notes.
|
btw, at first i thought maybe the SE termination was the IS termination as in the word this. But given the regularity of this two letters, it may seem it stands for something else. When i was a kid, we played a game where we would say the sylable "ka" before each sylable of the word you would say as a word game (ka-i ka-like ka-star-ka-craft). This could be a second level cyphering with something like this... or it could be just another thing at all.. gonna keep trying
|
Slightly off topic - I thought the FBI asked for help with the Zodiac Killer in the 70s since they couldn't decipher the entire letter. Maybe it was only the state/local police.
|
disagree on L12 +
(TFNQCMSP SOLE MRDELUSE TOTE WLDNWLDNCBE)
(194 WLD’S NCBE) (TRFXC)
edit: I am fairly sure this is polyalphabetic like has been suggested
NCBE occurs way too frequently for it to not be a single letter or a specific word
E for sure is not even a letter perse. It occurs way too frequently, at 18% in parenthetical parts excluding the original that was really off in terms of the rest of the letter. I am ignoring the first couple of lines for now, to be honest, and focusing on the parenthetical parts up until line 12. N occurs about the same amount E itself should ~11%, but I am suspicious it might not be E.
this is what I am focusing on. Any corrections/differences ?
(TFXLF TCXLNCBE)
(NOPFSE NLSRE NCBE)
(TENE TFRNE NCBRTSE NCBE ING)
(FLRSE PRSE ONDE71 NCBE)
(CDNSEPRSE ONSDE 74 NCBE)
(PRTSE PRSE ONREDE 75 NCBE)
(TFNQCMSP SOLE MRDELUSE TOTE WLDNWLDNCBE)
(194 WLD’S NCBE) (TRFXC)
|
On March 30 2011 09:20 never_toss wrote:hmm.. someone should transcribe the message. Here´s a part of the second image (the NOTES one) + Show Spoiler +ALPNTE GLSE - SE ERTE
VLSE MTSE-CTSE-WSE-FRTSE
PNRTRSEONDRSEWLDNCBE
NWLDXLRCMSPNEWLDSTSmE
BULMTGTUNSENCBEX
(MENSASTENMUNARSE)
KLSE-LKSTE-TR SE-TRSE-MKSEN-MRSE
(SAEGNSESENMBSE)
NMNLCBRNSEPTEZNTEWSRCBK
The first page is in the post right after the OP, if anyone can check it to see if I missed something.
|
The fact that numbers rarely show up make me think that they are of a location of some sort
|
Let's just get R1CH in here and be done with it?
|
On March 30 2011 08:52 Disregard wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 08:48 Jaso wrote:On March 30 2011 08:47 MisterD wrote:On March 30 2011 08:43 Bigpet wrote:
this seems to be written in latin characters only. So is anybody up for typing this and posting it here. That would make trying out algorithms easier. Like trying to find out the most common letter but I guess simple rotations are out of the question if the FBI has problems with it. its not latin only, there's · dots in it. These can be "typed" as well though. I haven't taken Latin, and have no clue what Latin characters look like, but that looks a lot like the English alphabet.. Uhh... English is Latin-based.
No it isn't. We use the Latin alphabet, the language itself is Germanic.
|
On March 30 2011 09:32 smokeyhoodoo wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 08:52 Disregard wrote:On March 30 2011 08:48 Jaso wrote:On March 30 2011 08:47 MisterD wrote:On March 30 2011 08:43 Bigpet wrote:
this seems to be written in latin characters only. So is anybody up for typing this and posting it here. That would make trying out algorithms easier. Like trying to find out the most common letter but I guess simple rotations are out of the question if the FBI has problems with it. its not latin only, there's · dots in it. These can be "typed" as well though. I haven't taken Latin, and have no clue what Latin characters look like, but that looks a lot like the English alphabet.. Uhh... English is Latin-based. No it isn't. We use the Latin alphabet, the language itself is Germanic.
Im pretty sure thats what he meant, just english LANGUAGE was implied. In regards to the OP, I am surprised nobody on TL has answered it yet. We already know we are the smartest and the best, lets prove it to the FBI.
|
If anyone one can do it TL can.. seriously someone here is gunna get it and its gunna be ridiculous like a note saying he had to pick up some eggs or something.
|
|
|
If any gamers on the internet can do it, it's TL!
|
I find it really hard to believe that the FBI would not be able to at least roughly decipher this if it's some variety of substitution cipher. They've had so much time to work on it.
|
The second last line where it has
TOTE WLDNWLDNCBE
The 2 L's could possibly be C's. If you take a look at earlier in that line where it has the
LUSE
The L is pretty well defined, same with the last line where it has
194WL
So I'm thinking those two are C's or at the very least the first one is a C and the second one could be an L.
|
On March 30 2011 09:41 Slithe wrote:
I find it really hard to believe that the FBI would not be able to at least roughly decipher this if it's some variety of substitution cipher. They've had so much time to work on it.
I wonder if the victim was autistic, they see the world differently from other people, probably one of the reasons he wrote encrypted notes to himself.
|
On March 30 2011 09:41 Slithe wrote:
I find it really hard to believe that the FBI would not be able to at least roughly decipher this if it's some variety of substitution cipher. They've had so much time to work on it.
Well the question is, how much effort did they actually put into this?
In the case that it's actually real, and decipherable, and they had put a full team of their best people on it for 12 years, I guess they would have done it by now.
But imo (and this is just pure speculation), this was probably a case that was on the backburner, and they probably didn't invest that much resources into it, because they probably have more serious things going on (things that actually matter in terms of state security and such).
This seems to me more of a "with the amount of resources we can put into this it's just not really possible to do this in a reasonable amount of time
So making this public actually has better chances" situation then a "we just can't do this in any way".
|
I've noticed every single line, with the exception of 2 or 3, ends in an 'E'. This might be due to the frequency of the letter, or it might indicate a break in the writing.
|
On March 30 2011 09:43 kOre wrote:The second last line where it has TOTE WLDNWLDNCBE The 2 L's could possibly be C's. If you take a look at earlier in that line where it has the LUSE The L is pretty well defined, same with the last line where it has 194WL So I'm thinking those two are C's or at the very least the first one is a C and the second one could be an L.
They look like L's to me, his prior C's are quite defined, there's no ambiguity that I can find.
|
On March 30 2011 09:43 kOre wrote:The second last line where it has TOTE WLDNWLDNCBE The 2 L's could possibly be C's. If you take a look at earlier in that line where it has the LUSE The L is pretty well defined, same with the last line where it has 194WL So I'm thinking those two are C's or at the very least the first one is a C and the second one could be an L.
Very good point, he tends to write the L's with the top tip arching to the left. Those two have the top tip arching to the right (i'm looking at these letters with 4x magnification). However his C's look well defined to me. hmm. Perhaps the L's with the right arching have a different meaning than the ones with the left arching? Or maybe they are C's, lol
|
i was about to post his Ls slant left
I agree leto
|
Some of the E's look like normal roman E but others look like ϵ , I'm not sure if this is significant, but it could be, unless the code-maker just got somewhat lazy/hurried.
|
On March 30 2011 09:51 LetoAtreides82 wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 09:43 kOre wrote:The second last line where it has TOTE WLDNWLDNCBE The 2 L's could possibly be C's. If you take a look at earlier in that line where it has the LUSE The L is pretty well defined, same with the last line where it has 194WL So I'm thinking those two are C's or at the very least the first one is a C and the second one could be an L. Very good point, he tends to write the L's with the top tip arching to the left. Those two have the top tip arching to the right. However his C's look well defined to me. hmm. Perhaps the L's with the right arching have a different meaning than the ones with the left arching? Or maybe they are C's, lol
Yeah ... about that lol, makes this code breaking so much harder ... especially if the L's with right arches have different meanings ...
|
You think they could be throwing this out to the public to try to find some new code breakers? Either way I'm giving it a shot.
|
to be honest, the messages are so short that if the victim used a book cipher or similar (for instance a substitution cipher based on a paragraph of text familiar to the victim) then unless by blind chance we stumble upon the key then we'll never decipher it.
|
|
|
The gaps in where he starts the parenthesis could be relevant
|
On March 30 2011 09:53 kOre wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 09:51 LetoAtreides82 wrote:On March 30 2011 09:43 kOre wrote:The second last line where it has TOTE WLDNWLDNCBE The 2 L's could possibly be C's. If you take a look at earlier in that line where it has the LUSE The L is pretty well defined, same with the last line where it has 194WL So I'm thinking those two are C's or at the very least the first one is a C and the second one could be an L. Very good point, he tends to write the L's with the top tip arching to the left. Those two have the top tip arching to the right. However his C's look well defined to me. hmm. Perhaps the L's with the right arching have a different meaning than the ones with the left arching? Or maybe they are C's, lol Yeah ... about that lol, makes this code breaking so much harder ... especially if the L's with right arches have different meanings ...
Yea and now after looking at it with inverted colors and 5x magnification, I'm pretty sure they aren't C's because his C's have a well-defined curve, while the two L's in question have straighter strokes. The only thing I can think of at the moment is that either it's just an L with a right arch on it for a different meaning, or perhaps it's just a symbol he invented.
|
The slanting L's could be due to the position of his pen after writing the character before. For instance on the last line.
TRFXL7
That L could possibly pass for a C. Notice that the diagonal of the letter X follows closely to the angle of the following L.
|
The man who wrote that blog also attempted to type up the codes. I think he's done a pretty good job:
Edit: Text format is better
Note 1:
(MNDMXNEARSE-N-STA-KNARE)
*TFRNENPINSENPBSERCBBNSENPRSEINC
PRSENMRSEOPREHLDULDNCBE(TFXLFTCXLULBE)
AL-PRPPITXLYPPIYNCBEMGKSEINLDRCBRNSEPRSE
WLDRCBRNSENTSGNENTXSE-CRSLE-CITRSEWLDNCBE
ALWLPNCBETSMELRSERLSEURGLSNEASNWLDNCBE
(NOPFSENLSRENCBE)NTEGDDMNSENCURERCBRNE
(TENETFRNENCBRTSENCBEINC)
(FLRSEPRSEONDE71NCBE)
(CDNSEPRSEONSFE74NCBE)
(PR+SEPRSEONREDE75NCBE)
(TFNRCMSPSOLEMRDELUSETOTEWLDNINLDNCBE)
(194WLD'SNCBE)(TRFXL)
Note 2:
ALPNTE GLSE-SE ER+E
VLSEMTSE-CTSE-WSE-FRTSE
PNTRTRSEONPRSEWLDNCBE
NWLDXLRCMSPNEWLDSTSMEXL
DVLMT6TUNSE NCBEC
(MUNSAISTENMUNARSE)
KLSE-LRSTE-TRSE-TRSE-MKSEN-MRSE
(SAE6NSESENMBSE)
NMNRCBRNSEP+E2PTEWSRCBRNSE
26MLSE74SPRKSE29KENOSOLE173R7RSE
356LECLGSEUUNUTREDKRSEPSESHLE
6S1MTCSEHTLSENCUTCTRSNMRE
99.84.B2UNEPLSENCRSEAOLTSENSKSENRSE
NSREOUSEPUTSEWLDUCBE(3XORL)
DNMSENRSEIN2NTRLERCBRNSENTSRCRBNE
LSPNSENGSPSEMKSERBSENCBEAVXLR
HMCRENMRESCBE 1/2MUNDDLSE
D-W-M-YHIL XDRLX
|
That is DEFINITELY not a straight-up substitution cypher. Stop wasting your time suggesting them. Simple software can brute-force sub cyphers. This is something else. Could be anything. Like for example overlaying a random irrational number like Pi over the message and have each digit represent a shift cypher. It's absolutely retarded to give this a go...
|
On March 30 2011 10:04 AntiMetric wrote:The man who wrote that blog also attempted to type up the codes. I think he's done a pretty good job: Edit: Text format is better Note 1: (MNDMXNEARSE-N-STA-KNARE) *TFRNENPINSENPBSERCBBNSENPRSEINC PRSENMRSEOPREHLDULDNCBE(TFXLFTCXLULBE) AL-PRPPITXLYPPIYNCBEMGKSEINLDRCBRNSEPRSE WLDRCBRNSENTSGNENTXSE-CRSLE-CITRSEWLDNCBE ALWLPNCBETSMELRSERLSEURGLSNEASNWLDNCBE (NOPFSENLSRENCBE)NTEGDDMNSENCURERCBRNE (TENETFRNENCBRTSENCBEINC) (FLRSEPRSEONDE71NCBE) (CDNSEPRSEONSFE74NCBE) (PR+SEPRSEONREDE75NCBE) (TFNRCMSPSOLEMRDELUSETOTEWLDNINLDNCBE) (194WLD'SNCBE)(TRFXL) Note 2: ALPNTE GLSE-SE ER+E VLSEMTSE-CTSE-WSE-FRTSE PNTRTRSEONPRSEWLDNCBE NWLDXLRCMSPNEWLDSTSMEXL DVLMT6TUNSE NCBEC (MUNSAISTENMUNARSE) KLSE-LRSTE-TRSE-TRSE-MKSEN-MRSE (SAE6NSESENMBSE) NMNRCBRNSEP+E2PTEWSRCBRNSE 26MLSE74SPRKSE29KENOSOLE173R7RSE 356LECLGSEUUNUTREDKRSEPSESHLE 6S1MTCSEHTLSENCUTCTRSNMRE 99.84.B2UNEPLSENCRSEAOLTSENSKSENRSE NSREOUSEPUTSEWLDUCBE(3XORL) DNMSENRSEIN2NTRLERCBRNSENTSRCRBNE LSPNSENGSPSEMKSERBSENCBEAVXLR HMCRENMRESCBE 1/2MUNDDLSE D-W-M-YHIL XDRLX
Thanks
|
On March 30 2011 10:07 UpHeaVaL wrote:
That is DEFINITELY not a straight-up substitution cypher. Stop wasting your time suggesting them. Simple software can brute-force sub cyphers. This is something else. Could be anything. Like for example overlaying a random irrational number like Pi over the message and have each digit represent a shift cypher. It's absolutely retarded to give this a go...
Sounds like something a guilty man would say! Where were you 12 years ago?
|
Why is there no reward for this? That's stilly!
I watched lots of Conan the Detective, I'll be right on to this.
As I understand, the man who wrote this was a psychopath that used to write this kind of notes since he was a boy.
Some interesting things:
Lots of SE
Lots of LE
very few numbers
...
I GOT IT!
Now I just need to stun somebody and fake his voice 
|
I could probably solve this if i put in a good 10 hours of work into it, it would require a history of places this guy like to go considering a good bit of it probably is streets, times, and places, possibly nicknames for family members.
|
How about that 12 year old genius kid from the other thread?
On March 30 2011 10:19 Snoyarc wrote:
I could probably solve this if i put in a good 10 hours of work into it, it would require a history of places this guy like to go considering a good bit of it probably is streets, times, and places, possibly nicknames for family members.
Yeah me too.
...
|
Looks to me like a bunch of Blizzard CD keys, anyone try inputting them yet?
|
not so easy as many people thinks to decypher not knowing anything about how he used to encrypt or the way he did it.. even worse if he knew what he was doing.. but if the point was telling something makes no sense to make a really hard thing to decypher..
|
This would make a pretty awesome movie.
|
If I were the FBI, I feel like this isn't actually a request for help, it's an attempt to make the actual killer try to "tease" the FBI with the right answers. Since it's been so long, maybe it's a hope that the killer is arrogant enough to want to parade that he knows the solution with anonymous hints.
|
this is creepy as shit
trying my best for the next hour or 2 but will probably not work
|
On March 30 2011 10:30 Emporio wrote:
If I were the FBI, I feel like this isn't actually a request for help, it's an attempt to make the actual killer try to "tease" the FBI with the right answers. Since it's been so long, maybe it's a hope that the killer is arrogant enough to want to parade that he knows the solution with anonymous hints.
but the victim wrote it?
|
On March 30 2011 10:34 FrostyTreats wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 10:30 Emporio wrote:
If I were the FBI, I feel like this isn't actually a request for help, it's an attempt to make the actual killer try to "tease" the FBI with the right answers. Since it's been so long, maybe it's a hope that the killer is arrogant enough to want to parade that he knows the solution with anonymous hints. but the victim wrote it?
but if it is indeed a clue as to where/when/how he was murdered I would imagine the murderer would know those pieces of information.
|
I'd laugh so hard if he used OTP to encrypt it.
|
Or maybe the FBI made this up because they need more code breakers and dunno where to look...
Or maybe the FBI made this up to look like they need more code breakers and dunno where to look to fool the MSS code makers into letting their guard down
Or maybe the FBI made this up to look like they were trying to fake out the Chinese code makers when actually the FBI and the MSS are the same organization and are really making a code to end all codes to distract rogue code breakers from focusing on other codes
Or maybe the FBI/MSS have made a code inside a code INSIDE A CODE INSIDE A CODE INSIDE YOUR DREAMS
I N C E P T I O N
|
On March 30 2011 10:30 Emporio wrote:
If I were the FBI, I feel like this isn't actually a request for help, it's an attempt to make the actual killer try to "tease" the FBI with the right answers. Since it's been so long, maybe it's a hope that the killer is arrogant enough to want to parade that he knows the solution with anonymous hints.
if anything this sounds like a fake case and the company who does the encryptions for the FBI is looking for people on hire/work on a super duper top secret case, and they need help.
|
At first look at the the title, I was like wtf, Code Breaker, is this same cheat system like Game Shark?
This probably has been done but......
Did the FBI check up on the victim's house and see his other notes?
Check up more of this coding bullshit, see his high school notes for biology, chemistry, "english".
|
On March 30 2011 10:34 FrostyTreats wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 10:30 Emporio wrote:
If I were the FBI, I feel like this isn't actually a request for help, it's an attempt to make the actual killer try to "tease" the FBI with the right answers. Since it's been so long, maybe it's a hope that the killer is arrogant enough to want to parade that he knows the solution with anonymous hints. but the victim wrote it?
I forgot to also mention that I assumed that the killer actually wrote it and the FBI are just pretending that they think the victim wrote it since it makes it feel safer for the killer to send in his hints.
Also, if the guy had a history of working with codes, chances are he's already left behind similar encryptions that would make it a lot easier to guess what he was into and decipher the sheet.
|
126 Posts
(TENETFRNENCBRTSENCBEINC)
(FLRSEPRSEONDE71NCBE)
(CDNSEPRSEONSFE74NCBE)
(PR+SEPRSEONREDE75NCBE
If you look at those sentences
there almost identical look at
NCBE with its variations
NCBEINC
71NCBE, 74NCBE, 75NCBE. its like they are a modifier to show case what NCBE stands for.
Same with SERPRSE with modifiers on the front and back of the word to showcase what the real word is. Now for NCBE if he doesnt utilize modifiers then it would mean what i pasted is near identical sentance posted 4 times.
Good info woudl be to knwo if he was into any kind of movies as a kid that utilized cyphers maybee influencing him to make his own.
|
Physician
United States4146 Posts
It is a recruitment tool.
|
On March 30 2011 10:27 hiyo_bye wrote:
Looks to me like a bunch of Blizzard CD keys, anyone try inputting them yet?
I laughed
|
On March 30 2011 11:02 Physician wrote:
It is a recruitment tool.
|
On March 30 2011 11:02 Physician wrote:
It is a recruitment tool.
i thought that was kinda crude but then i went to page 1 and read
“We would love to find our counterparts somewhere in the world,” he said, “but so far we haven’t been able to. No one seems to have the niche that we have.”
Becoming a cryptanalyst requires a basic four-month training course and plenty of continuing education to learn the age-old patterns and techniques of code makers. Olson insists that almost anyone can learn basic code-breaking skills (see sidebar), but certain personality types seem best suited to the job, including those who like solving puzzles and who are determined and tenacious.
|
I read the link to the FBI request and I find this case weird.
First how did the FBI determined that this is a homicide. People don't get killed for no reason. Rather than relying on a coded message, shouldn't they approach this in other ways.
Then there is the coded message, if the victim wants to leave evidence to his killer why would he choose to write it in codes. From the article, it seems like he was capture and confine a few days before he was killed AND he knows he was to be killed. If the killer is anything but stupid, this coded message shouldn't have been found.
Also, WTF is with the FBI trying to ask the public to help them solve this without giving any help to us. If the FBI also include a list of possible suspects, then we can solve the codes backward (I think it will violating some privacy rights but it sure will be a lot of help).
|
Russian Federation76 Posts
its been done pleanty of times where the gov has asked for help from the public. during apolo missions some peeps found out how to refilter their air or something. even for the Zodiac killer there was the same situation where notes were left and they couldent be decyphered. given to the public and the answer was found by a high school math teach. it doesnt matter why they gave the note really. the questiopn is do you want to spend some time to help.
btw no knoledge of decypghering stuff sorry. nothing real to add
|
Another one for R1CH T_T..
|
On March 30 2011 08:52 Disregard wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 08:48 Jaso wrote:On March 30 2011 08:47 MisterD wrote:On March 30 2011 08:43 Bigpet wrote:
this seems to be written in latin characters only. So is anybody up for typing this and posting it here. That would make trying out algorithms easier. Like trying to find out the most common letter but I guess simple rotations are out of the question if the FBI has problems with it. its not latin only, there's · dots in it. These can be "typed" as well though. I haven't taken Latin, and have no clue what Latin characters look like, but that looks a lot like the English alphabet.. Uhh... English is Latin-based.
Chinese guy teaching US guy English
|
I have some talent in codebreaking. I wanted to do my masters in cryptography for a while.
I'm a bit rusty though, and its very time consuming. Nor do I think I can best the FBI. Very interesting, though.
It seems to me unlikely that this cipher can be very long, given the number of repeated substrings. One thing I should remind anyone willing to give it a go... there's no reason why "NCBE" (or other substrings) can't refer to phonetic sound, single/double/.... letter or word. It's much harder to solve such a problem than a conventional cipher.
|
Trolling at its finest? Could be gibbberish.
|
If I were fucked up enough to kill a boy then I imagine that I would also be fucked up enough to scribble some "code" and put it into his pockets hoping to keep the feds busy while I went looking for my next boy.
One thing about code breaking is that you have to assume the code is breakable in the first place. In classroom scenarios this is easy enough but in the real world how do we know when code is really encryption or merely a ruse?
|
There's a lesson to be learned here, TL.
Stop writing in secret code, because when you get murdered, that shit will haunt you all the way through the afterlife.
Interesting to see what people come up with though!
|
On March 30 2011 11:02 GambleVII wrote:
(TENETFRNENCBRTSENCBEINC)
(FLRSEPRSEONDE71NCBE)
(CDNSEPRSEONSFE74NCBE)
(PR+SEPRSEONREDE75NCBE
If you look at those sentences
there almost identical look at
NCBE with its variations
NCBEINC
71NCBE, 74NCBE, 75NCBE. its like they are a modifier to show case what NCBE stands for.
Same with SERPRSE with modifiers on the front and back of the word to showcase what the real word is. Now for NCBE if he doesnt utilize modifiers then it would mean what i pasted is near identical sentance posted 4 times.
Good info woudl be to knwo if he was into any kind of movies as a kid that utilized cyphers maybee influencing him to make his own.
I feel like this is on to something. Those two strings appear way too frequently, and always 6-7 characters apart. I think something important is happening with NCBE and SEPRSEON. Also, look at when and where DE appears. Its always in between those two common strings.
|
On March 30 2011 11:23 LunarDestiny wrote:
I read the link to the FBI request and I find this case weird.
First how did the FBI determined that this is a homicide. People don't get killed for no reason. Rather than relying on a coded message, shouldn't they approach this in other ways.
Then there is the coded message, if the victim wants to leave evidence to his killer why would he choose to write it in codes. From the article, it seems like he was capture and confine a few days before he was killed AND he knows he was to be killed. If the killer is anything but stupid, this coded message shouldn't have been found.
Also, WTF is with the FBI trying to ask the public to help them solve this without giving any help to us. If the FBI also include a list of possible suspects, then we can solve the codes backward (I think it will violating some privacy rights but it sure will be a lot of help).
Really? Ok first they probably figured it was a homicide because he was dumped in a field which people who commit suicide usually can't do to themselves, second it said he was writing codes since he was a kid so thats why him having a code is likely AND it doesn't say he was confined and wrote a code to the cops they just want to know it 1. Because it might have been some note but it could tell them where he had been and 2. If this is a code, the FBI couldn't solve it in TWELVE years, knowing how he did that is probably of some interest to him, third the FBI not helping us? Really? As you mentioned there are a few minor privacy laws to be regarded (you might want to glance through the constitution now and again) and finally this is obviously just a last-ditch desperation move, they have code-breakers and computers that are among the best in the world at this, they're probably just really hoping that someone else uses something similar already, cause no lay person will solve this from scratch if they couldn't.
|
So out of boredom I did some of this:
(MNDMXN -[E]{A}R- [SE] -N-STA-KNA [RE])
*[TFR{N]E}NPIN [SE] NPB [SE] RCBBN [SE] N [PR] [SE] [INC]
[PR] [SE] -N[MR]- [SE] O [PR] EHLDULD[NCBE](?TFXLFTCXLUL? [BE])
AL- [PR] ?PPITXLYPPIYN? {C[BE]M} GK [SE] INLDR{CBRN} [SE] [PR] [SE]
[WL]DR {CBRN} [SE] ?NTSGNENTX? [SE] -[CRSLE] -CITR [SE] @{[WL]D}@[NCBE]
AL[WL]P [NCBE] TSMELR [SE] RL [SE] ?URGLSNEASN @[WLD]@? [NCBE]
(NOPF [SE] NLSRE [NCBE])NTEGDDMN [SE] NCU[RE]R {CBRNE}
(?TENETFRNEN? {CBRT} [SE] [NCBE] [INC])
([FLR] [SE [PR][SE]ON] [DE] -71- [NCBE])
([CDN] [SE [PR][SE]ON] [SFE] -74- [NCBE])
([PR]+] [SE [PR][SE]ON] [RE][DE] -75- [NCBE])
([TFNR] ?CMSPSOL? -E[MR]- [DE] LU [SE] ?TOTEW [LD] NIN [LD]? [NCBE])
?(194 @}[WLD]'S}@ [NCBE])(TRFXL)?
Its the first note, broken up into repeated strands that I noticed, parts that are together are boxed in the same symbols, any one see any other patterns?
NCBE
CBRN
WL/WLD
and alot of letters before "E" seem to be common features.
|
With the frequency of some of the letter combinations I would think that the first layer at least would have to be some kind of substitution cipher, no? They are placeholders for something, at least.
|
On March 30 2011 11:49 Navillus wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 11:23 LunarDestiny wrote:
I read the link to the FBI request and I find this case weird.
First how did the FBI determined that this is a homicide. People don't get killed for no reason. Rather than relying on a coded message, shouldn't they approach this in other ways.
Then there is the coded message, if the victim wants to leave evidence to his killer why would he choose to write it in codes. From the article, it seems like he was capture and confine a few days before he was killed AND he knows he was to be killed. If the killer is anything but stupid, this coded message shouldn't have been found.
Also, WTF is with the FBI trying to ask the public to help them solve this without giving any help to us. If the FBI also include a list of possible suspects, then we can solve the codes backward (I think it will violating some privacy rights but it sure will be a lot of help). Really? Ok first they probably figured it was a homicide because he was dumped in a field which people who commit suicide usually can't do to themselves, second it said he was writing codes since he was a kid so thats why him having a code is likely AND it doesn't say he was confined and wrote a code to the cops they just want to know it 1. Because it might have been some note but it could tell them where he had been and 2. If this is a code, the FBI couldn't solve it in TWELVE years, knowing how he did that is probably of some interest to him, third the FBI not helping us? Really? As you mentioned there are a few minor privacy laws to be regarded (you might want to glance through the constitution now and again) and finally this is obviously just a last-ditch desperation move, they have code-breakers and computers that are among the best in the world at this, they're probably just really hoping that someone else uses something similar already, cause no lay person will solve this from scratch if they couldn't.
I didn't catch the thrown into the field part so yeah... it can't be a suicide.
I still ask the same question. Why was it writen in codes? If the victim wants to let whoever finds the codes knew who was the murder, just write down the name. Cop will then ask the murder what he was doing during that time and BAM. Case solved.
I don't believe a person, even if he is writing codes all his life, will actually want to play a codebreaking game regarding to his murder.
To write this code requires a lot of time. That means the victim must know ahead of time that he was going to be killed. Either he was confined and know he is going to die or he didn't know he was going to die and therefore do not know who is his murder. I do get your point that this code may refer to other information like where he was or what he was doing, etc and that may be help to the case.
Maybe the FBI may provide past written codes by the victim (don't know if this violate rights).
To sum it up:
If he was confine and know who is the killer:
Dude is crazy to not just write the name down. Well, the murder is also stupid for not searching the body carefully.
If he was just killed.
Then the code is not pointing directly at the murder. The coded messages would be stupid stuff like "Grand Canyon, nice place." or "Mississippi, super hot."
|
|
|
Wow, that is frustrating. He had no rules for making this so for all we know it could be looped through hundreds of different cyphers... How cool would it be if someone from TL get it decoded!
|
Guys
Breaking it down from his handwriting is pointless
He uses different variations of writing a letter significantly, for instance E vs a more rounded backwards 3. He also does the same with very many letters.
So make sure when transcibing it to give each variation of writing style on each letter a unique symbol
|
United States527 Posts
I think when you guys are deciphering this, I would put into account the location of the codes where he starts a new line and such. might be important in the first note.
|
If he knows how to write in code and other knows he writes in code, then he knows that others do or don't know his code. After his death they published his name, yet no one has come forward (i.e friend/family who can read in his code). It's probably nothing relevant to the murder, but more like a grocery list left for himself. It's been way too long, and I find it very surprising they haven't already given up on this.
|
I think they are more interested with this line
"“Even if we found out that he was writing a grocery list or a love letter,” Olson said, “we would still want to see how the code is solved. This is a cipher system we know nothing about."
rather than the results as well they probably very well know it is nothing related to his murder.
|
On March 30 2011 09:41 Slithe wrote:
I find it really hard to believe that the FBI would not be able to at least roughly decipher this if it's some variety of substitution cipher. They've had so much time to work on it.
Yeah, this. I get the feeling that this is all just a massive trolling attempt, though of course we may never know
|
126 Posts
Wouldnt he have to be able to write this all down, so the code is something he had in his brain.
Or there would be traces of how to write using his code at his house.
He either wrote the code from memory (wouldnt that be hard as hell) or somewhere there is evidence of how to write the code somewhere.
|
Wouldn't it be cool if somebody in TL solved it and TL gets some publicity
|
i think an interesting point to start is that there is no z in any of these notes. None whatsoever. If this was a straight-up substitution then we should be seeing a letter that isn't z missing. But instead z, one of the least common letters, is missing. Instead, there are numbers.
Secondly is the use of parantheses in weird places. This is a person who has been writing encrypted notes to himself for 40 years. He would need to be able to read these notes very quickly if he in fact did intend to read them. The fact that every set of parantheses is closed says something.
You should also note that he uses periods, but no commas, parantheses, but no brackets or ampersands or exclamation points and question marks: also no colons. So why would he use plus signs and dashes?
Another thing to look at is his overuse of the letter e. I think the letter e is supposed to signify a space/stop to the line, rather than have any intrinsic meaning in itself.
~just some thoughts
|
i felt like contributing...
P1
(MNDMUNEA8SE-N-STAUNARE) ((ACSM)))
TFRNENI1NSENPBSERCBBNSENPRSE1NC
PRSENMQSEBPREHLDWLDNCBE (TFXLFTCXLNCBE)
AL-PRPPITXLYPPIYNCBEMGKSEINCDRCBRNSEPRSE
WLDRCBRNSEN706NENTXSE-C8SLE-CLTRSEWLDNCBE
ALWLDNCBETSMELISERLSEVRGLSNEASNWLDNCBE
(NOPFSENLSRENCBE) NTEGDDMNSENCURERCBRNE
(TENETFRNENCBRTSENCBE1NG)
(FLRSEPQSEONDE71NCBE)
(CDNSEPQS6ONSDE74NCBE)
(PQTSGPQSEONREDE75NCBE)
(TFNQCMSPSOLEMRDELUSETOTEWLDNINLDNCBE)
(194WLD'SNCBE) (TRFXL)
NOTES
ALPNTEGLSE-SE ERTE
VLSEM7SE-CTSE-WSG-FRTSE
PNRTRSEONPRSEWLDNCBE
NWLDXCRCMSPNEWLDSTSMEXL
DULMT6T6TUNSENCBEXC
(MUNSA1STENMUNARSE)
KLSE-LKSTE-TRSE-TRSE-MKSEN-MRSE
(SAE6NSESENMRSE)
NMNLCBRNSEPTE2PTEWSREBRNRE
8SGLECLGSEJUNUTXEDKQSEPSESHLE
651MTCSEHTLSENCUTCTRSNMRE
99.84.32UNEPLSEUCBSEAOLTSENSKSENB'SE
DNMSENRSE1NRNTRLERCBRNSENTSRCRONG
LSPNSENGSPSEMKSERBSENCBGAUXLR
HMCRENMRENCBE 1/2MUNDDLSE
D-W-M-4MPL XDRLX
this person really doesn't like their 'n''s it seems. terrible handwriting.
i found it hard to distinguish between L's and C's in the letters. i find lines 9 10 and 11 to be the most interesting.
|
So, I'm not sure if this has been mentioned here, but here's a reddit thread with some possible insight:
http://www.reddit.com/r/crypto/comments/ge3sq/fbi_wants_public_help_solving_encrypted_notes/c1mxjn5
Of note: INC seems to indicate paragraph breaks. Similarly, NCBE seems to indicate linebreaks. I think you can probably safely consider these to not be part of the code.
I would not be surprised to find out that individual lines are encrypted differently, or that page 1 contains and encrypted key for solving page 2 (or parts of it, and vice versa).
Regardless, this is very interesting for those of us with even a passing interest in cryptography. Hope to see this develop.
|
Bisutopia19229 Posts
first 3 lines of the 2nd note:
Planet Legs see ret
elvs mets sect sew frets
purse ret drones weld NBC
Meaning:
I see elven legs from a planet. In the met(or mid) sections there are sew(or sewn) frets and a purse with drones weld( or wielding) NBC (the TV station).
note: he says ret twice from what I decipher, so he also thinks he's a ret paladin.
|
Ehh I took cryptography when I was in school, but I don't remember a lot of it and I'd probably be too lazy to try it to be honest haha. I don't think it's undoable if it hasn't been discovered by now. Look at Kryptos for example.
|
this sounds like a job for.....
C.S.I LIQUID
|
I don't know if this helps but here is info about the "victim" (Ricky) from 1999 StL today archives
- high school drop out
- on disability welfare
- fathered "at least" four children (guess he wasn't THAT disabled...)
- served 11 months for rape (statutory)
- had heart/lung ailments
- last seen alive at a hospital when he went in for medicine about 4 days before his body was found
So, I can't help conclude that this has to be a "simple" code...or this guy was some sort of savant masquerading as a bum (but one that was effective with the ladies).
Could he be mentioning his rape victim over and over again and hence the repetitive text?
Somehow I bet these are simple song lyrics that he just sribbled which have nothing to do with anything...
|
These are the lyrics to Smells like teen spirit, or at least what he understood of them.
|
On March 30 2011 12:25 dacthehork wrote:
Guys
Breaking it down from his handwriting is pointless
He uses different variations of writing a letter significantly, for instance E vs a more rounded backwards 3. He also does the same with very many letters.
So make sure when transcibing it to give each variation of writing style on each letter a unique symbol
I also noticed that the E seems written in 2 way's. It would be very odd for a person to write the same letter different so what seems an e could actually be another letter.
Why didnt he just like to write clean instead of encrypting stuff
|
The thing with these cyphers makes it harder is: language it uses. I could easily make extremely hard code that nobody english speaking could break. I guess its based on english language after all. What if this guy taught spanish secretly to himself (changes from little boy code to older mans code, so you cant compare different codes).
If I would make code I would make it like this:
1. Use language that is not mainstream
2. Make it backwards
3. Add random words and other language words to mix it up
4. Make fake code
5. Use fake code to hide real code information (so that fake code information could be real)
6. Use same code every paper/code you write (indicating it could be cypher key when its not)
7. And so on...
No way nobody could cypher that unless I reveal it.
|
|
|
On March 31 2011 10:23 Too_MuchZerg wrote:
The thing with these cyphers makes it harder is: language it uses. I could easily make extremely hard code that nobody english speaking could break. I guess its based on english language after all. What if this guy taught spanish secretly to himself (changes from little boy code to older mans code, so you cant compare different codes).
If I would make code I would make it like this:
1. Use language that is not mainstream
2. Make it backwards
3. Add random words and other language words to mix it up
4. Make fake code
5. Use fake code to hide real code information (so that fake code information could be real)
6. Use same code every paper/code you write (indicating it could be cypher key when its not)
7. And so on...
No way nobody could cypher that unless I reveal it.
Or you could use a computer program to generate a lot of 1 time pads, and then encrypt everything that way. Only way the code can be broken is by someone in possession of a copy of the pad used to encrypt whatever note it was...
The problem with this note is that it really can be a lot of things. My top guess is some kind of transposition cipher.
|
|
|
Letter frequencies are great and all, but this is definitely not a simple substitution cypher. Plus, Ricky, and what he wrote about, might not directly be using E eleven point whatever percent of the time.
+ Show Spoiler +Apparently, he liked E way more than that!
|
On March 31 2011 10:07 Trezeguet wrote:
These are the lyrics to Smells like teen spirit, or at least what he understood of them.
i lol'd
edit: we need that 170 IQ kid on this
|
This sounds strange. The article says that Ricky McCormick had health problems and that the police do not know how he died. No stab wounds or signs of a struggle?
A man wanders out into a field and just dies with codes in his pocket? That he wrote?
As far as the code goes: I am glad there are so many people interested in this. I thought I was the only one. I noticed the E is often paired with only a certain set of letters.
I can only guess each line is actually a word. When the lines indent, I think that is the end of a sentence? Anybody think this could be something?
Also, look it up on Wikipedia, the pictures of the codes are much clearer when you zoom in.
|
Look at some of the letters on the first page. Some of the letters don't look like mistakes. Letters are scratched out and written over with another letter. Mistake or is this a pattern as well?
I have a link to the photos here:
Note 1
Note 2
I don't know if the notes are connected. They could be separate codes. Why does one have circles around paragraphs, the other doesn't.
|
Seriously, can we come back to the actual point of this thread, which is the actual code breaking?
On March 30 2011 13:14 Caller wrote:
i think an interesting point to start is that there is no z in any of these notes. None whatsoever. If this was a straight-up substitution then we should be seeing a letter that isn't z missing. But instead z, one of the least common letters, is missing. Instead, there are numbers.
Secondly is the use of parantheses in weird places. This is a person who has been writing encrypted notes to himself for 40 years. He would need to be able to read these notes very quickly if he in fact did intend to read them. The fact that every set of parantheses is closed says something.
You should also note that he uses periods, but no commas, parantheses, but no brackets or ampersands or exclamation points and question marks: also no colons. So why would he use plus signs and dashes?
Another thing to look at is his overuse of the letter e. I think the letter e is supposed to signify a space/stop to the line, rather than have any intrinsic meaning in itself.
~just some thoughts
Maybe the words in parentheses are the ones that mattered/the rest of them are unintelligible and gibberish to throw the codebreaker off?
Also, Another point to consider would be the number of characters in each line. One thing that you can see, is that the parentheses are always in one line, never straying over to two lines.
+ Show Spoiler +Note 1(Characters only, not including punctuation)
L1: 23
L2: 31
L3: 36
L4: 38
L5: 38
L6: 38
L7: 36
L8: 23
L9: 19
L10: 20
L11: 21
L12: 35
L13: 16
|
Yes, I noticed this. You could be on to something. Also look at the first note at the end of the first line. Does that say PRSE INC or is that PRSE 1NC. I ask this because the guy wrote the letter I in two different formats.
|
ya i bet this letter is gibberish but cool thing to waste some time on. GL
|
United States4126 Posts
|
Replacing the "E"s with spaces just for shits and giggles.
+ Show Spoiler +L01: (MNDMXN MRS .N.S.M.KNAR ) (ALSM)
L02: TFRN NPtNS NPBS RCBRNS NPRS INC
L03: PRS NMRS DPR HLDWLDNCB (TFXLFTCXLNCB )
L04: AL-PRPPITXLYPRIYNCB MGKS WCDRCBRNS PRS
L05: WLDRCBRNS NTSBN NTX .CRSL .CLTRS WLDNCB
L06: ALWCDNCB TSM LRS RLS URGLSN ASNWLDNCB
L07: (NOPFS NLSR NCB )NT GDDMNS NCUR RCBRN
L08: (T N TFRN NCBPTS NCB lNQ)
L09: (FLRS PQS OND 71NCB )
L10: (CDNS PQS ONSD 74NCB )
L11: (PQtS PRS ONR D 7SNCB )
L12: (TFNQCMSPSOL MRD LUS TOT WCDNWLDNCB )
L13: (194WLD'SNCB )(TRFXL)
ALPNT GLS -S R+
VLS MTS -CTS -WS -FRTS
PNTRTRS ONPRS WLDNCB
NWLDXLRCMSPN WLDSTSM XL
DVLMT6TUNS NCB C
(MUNSAIST NMUNARS )
KLS -LRST -TRS -TRS -MKS N-MRS
(SA 6NS S NMBS )
NMNRCBRNS P+ 2PT WSRCBRNS
26MLS 74SPRKS 29K NOSOL 173R7RS
356L CLGS UUNUTR DKRS PS SHL
6S1MTCS HTLS NCUTCTRSNMR
99.84.B2UN PLS NCRS AOLTS NSKS NRS
NSR OUS PUTS WLDUCB (3XORL)
DNMS NRS IN2NTRL RCBRNS NTSRCRBN
LSPNS NGSPS MKS RBS NCB AVXLR
HMCR NMR SCB 1/2MUNDDLS
Note this area in particular
NMNRCBRNS P+ 2PT WSRCBRNS
26MLS 74SPRKS 29K NOSOL 173R7RS
356L CLGS UUNUTR DKRS PS SHL
6S1MTCS HTLS NCUTCTRSNMR
99.84.B2UN PLS NCRS AOLTS NSKS NRS
NSR OUS PUTS WLDUCB (3XORL)
All of the bolded parts seem like measurements of some sort to me.
That's all I came up with. I tried.
|
If this guy's deciphering proves true, this McCormick must have had some serious case of schizophrenia I would imagine.
|
Why, on the first note are the letters arranged nicely, yet on the second note placement is sloppy as hell?
|
would be pretty cool if someone deciphered this and it helped solve the case.
|
Russian Federation76 Posts
FYI i know nothing of cryptology
1. he has been making these codes since he was a child. he wasent making em to keep Russians out of his HW he was doing it for fun. just like some people draw or read im sure. this was a way he even thought maybe or kept things organized. over years of keeping info i think it would progresivly get more and more complex.
2 i dont think he made the code unsolvable but i also belive he never made the code to be solved by others. unless he was an avid public code cracker he kept these things to himself. thus he didnt really discuse these things with other.
3. i think this is a very simplified code or "cut short" code. i think over decades he has made alot of acronyms for keys and oterh neccecary mechanics of his cyphers. maybe things are a "given" to him. EX:he got tired of writing 1996 for year so he wrote 96 but in a more complexe coded form.
i dont wana discourage people from trying to solve this. i wana know how its made and what it means. just my non beneficial input
|
Hes been writing encrypted notes for 40 years and no one besides him can de-encrypt them? I find that hard to believe.
|
Interesting pattern.
Follow me on this:
If the FBI wanted to know what the note says, they would have been smart enough to search his house for any encryption devices. Makes sense. Considering they haven't decoded it yet, they didn't find any.
This can mean either a. He encrypted it out of his head, or b. He hid a encrypting machine somewhere and nobody has found it. Considering that he has been encrypting for a long time, option a seems the most likely. But what kind of encryption can you do out of your head and isn't crackable with computers?
I'd say he had a list inside his head, with combinations of letters and their meaning.
For example: F42DE32 could mean ' the' . With such a list, he could use the most random stuff ever, and nobody would realize. In that case, finding patterns in the letters itsself would be pointless.
Because he knows the list, he sees all the words as they should be and he knows where there should be spaces. He doesn't need to write them down, as he knows where every word starts and ends. Such a code can be chewed on forever by computers, because there is no logical pattern to find in it.
I strongly suspect the person that encrypted the message used a system described as above. Witch means that now that the person who know the 'list' is dead, nobody will ever get to know the message, unless somebody is smart enough to figure out what combinations of letters and numbers he would use for certain words. But if he's really good with that stuff, it isn't that hard to for example shift all letters 1 place. And a computer wouldn't realize that, neither does a human, because it's still rubbish without a logical pattern in it. And I say shifting one place, but there's of course tons of possibilities, like shifting one letter up, next one down, next one up, next one down being one of the simple ones. If I had to encrypt something without a computer near me, I'd take my birthdate to shift the letters after encrypting it with my 'list'.
Long story short: I'd say this isn't gonna be cracked. Ever. Unless some genius with some real good insight in the killed man is good enough to figure out the code.
|
If this guy really was crazy and always making encryptions that only he could decode then he could have been simply using an OTP encryption therefore making it impossible to decrypt his notes. I'm curious as to why the FBI seems to have such interest in this case.
|
|
|
On March 30 2011 11:02 GambleVII wrote:
(TENETFRNENCBRTSENCBEINC)
(FLRSEPRSEONDE71NCBE)
(CDNSEPRSEONSFE74NCBE)
(PR+SEPRSEONREDE75NCBE
If you look at those sentences
there almost identical look at
NCBE with its variations
NCBEINC
71NCBE, 74NCBE, 75NCBE. its like they are a modifier to show case what NCBE stands for.
Same with SERPRSE with modifiers on the front and back of the word to showcase what the real word is. Now for NCBE if he doesnt utilize modifiers then it would mean what i pasted is near identical sentance posted 4 times.
Good info woudl be to knwo if he was into any kind of movies as a kid that utilized cyphers maybee influencing him to make his own.
I have zero experience with this kind of stuff but to me it looks more like each line represents a word not a whole sentence...
Edit:
On March 30 2011 13:01 Cite wrote:
I think they are more interested with this line
"“Even if we found out that he was writing a grocery list or a love letter,” Olson said, “we would still want to see how the code is solved. This is a cipher system we know nothing about."
rather than the results as well they probably very well know it is nothing related to his murder.
Yeah this makes more sence why they would make this public considering it is not really a "high profile" case at all.
would be interesting to see if any genius out there could break this.
|
that zodiac letter is pretty insane i must say.
|
|
|
on topic: good luck to all crazies stalking the crazies... 
Having key words to look for would help, but i suppose if they aren't any "obvious" that door's shut.
("+ Show Spoiler +To move the case forward, examiners need another sample of murder-victim Ricky McCormick’s coded system—or a similar one—that might offer context to the mystery notes or allow comparisons to be made.
Looking out for the letters that are not "used" might lead up to quicker results?
Slang words (McCormick's own brand of course) should be considered "more" than "usual" english everyday words (not to mention the "all words abbreviated" technique).
Geographical sites' names are usually more difficult to "hide" in a message (since the general area one lives in is usually obvious), so maybe focusing on the names available around the area where he was found or he used to go to would help?.
Compiling a list of names and seeing if anything comes up when cross referencing the "unknown" words you do get after some "trial decoding" has been done.
(focusing solely on sites names with possibly their own McCormick "local slang twist" or "misspelled version").
I too think each line is a code (or a word) in itself... but that does not mean you can't make a new word (or get a new meaning) when you put them all together (like a limerick: my first is a "T", my second is a "K", third is an "A", and the sum makes a cat (just an example with a spelling mistake he could consistently do ?).
Here's hoping no code is ever unbreakable, it would help me sleep at night
off topic:+ Show Spoiler +How is it that so many people keep arguing about other stuff then the op (are we on tl?)? Humbly, i will refrain from citing the odds. i'm however amazed at how many people have "said" that this "exercise" is useless or that their own "secret coding" would be unbreakable...  it feels like "versus posts" in a fan club thread... FBI add recruitment or unhealthy trolling, who's killer and who's the victim, reddit is beating tl, hope this gives tl publicity..  where is the world going ?
|
this kept me up all night. fascinating. hope more TL'rs and regular folk keep looking at this!
|
On March 30 2011 11:29 tyCe wrote:Show nested quote +On March 30 2011 08:52 Disregard wrote:On March 30 2011 08:48 Jaso wrote:On March 30 2011 08:47 MisterD wrote:On March 30 2011 08:43 Bigpet wrote:
this seems to be written in latin characters only. So is anybody up for typing this and posting it here. That would make trying out algorithms easier. Like trying to find out the most common letter but I guess simple rotations are out of the question if the FBI has problems with it. its not latin only, there's · dots in it. These can be "typed" as well though. I haven't taken Latin, and have no clue what Latin characters look like, but that looks a lot like the English alphabet.. Uhh... English is Latin-based. Chinese guy teaching US guy English
English uses the Latin alphabet, the Arabic numeral system, and is primarily Germanic based in speaking origins. Therefore English is most certainly not 'Latin-based' because the flow of the language is nothing like Latin. On regards to the note, I would suggest that - regardless of whether FBI did or didn't already do so, that someone runs a some decryption software on it. Perhaps it could manage to come up with one or two lines, or even just a couple words to help guide the manual deciphering procedure.
|
would need some kinda optimus prime pc to brute force this baby. had some fun writin a simple bruter / dictionary scanner this mornin but only to have my computer crap out after rotating >5 unquie characters, o well ^^. no chance! far 2 many characters/variations for my lonely pc and pants academy programmin 2 handle! good luck ya'll am out.
|
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110329/ts_yblog_thelookout/fbi-asks-public-for-help-breaking-encrypted-notes-tied-to-1999-murder#mwpphu-container
+ Show Spoiler +Start with the obvious, which is to check the "key" at the end.
The time key is at the bottom of page 2 (which was written first and as a log of medications: this is critical for bipolars to get their meds exactly right, which takes years of variation and must be coded, since doctors require that bipolars stay closeted due to publicty regarding violent crimes) weekday triggers indicate a work trigger, month patterns indicate seasonal disorder usually starting in the 4th qtr as indicated here. Years indicate home environment. Times of day for meds indicate sleeplessness or need for a stimulant in the morning which is common in early years.
Bottom of page 2:
D-W-M-Y M,D,L = Day weekday month year: morning day or latenight
These are time designations that are critical to get your meds right with bipolar and are coded for privacy
Body of page 2:
ALPNTE GLSE-SE ERTE
A: Latenight, Phenergan, taken in evening G: Latenight Serenace/Seroquel or Seroquel/Serenace Extended Release Taken Evening
VLSE MTSE-CTSE-WSE-FRTSE
V: Late Serenace Morning take Serenace
26MLSE74SPRKSE29KENOSOLE173R7RSE
2x 6mg Serenace in 1974
99-84.B2UNEPLSENCRSEAOLTSENSKSENRSE
1999 through 1988
HMCRENMRESCBE ½MUNDDLSE
1/2 tablet
NSREOUSEPUTSEWLDUCBE(3XORL)
(3 times oral)
On page 1 are lists of manic episodes, as required to diagnose bipolar:
(FLRSEPRSEONDE71NCBE)
From late september really severe episode on December 1971: No cause before episode
(CDNSEPRSEONSF/DE74NCBE)
Chronic Depression in September, really severe episode on the start of December in 1974, no cause before episode
These logs are needed forever and are why this has been so private for so long.
Taken from a yahoo commenter named John. Seems like he has a grasp on this since he mentions it is a bi-polar issue which he himself has.
|
On April 01 2011 03:19 theoneandtheonly wrote:http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110329/ts_yblog_thelookout/fbi-asks-public-for-help-breaking-encrypted-notes-tied-to-1999-murder#mwpphu-container+ Show Spoiler +Start with the obvious, which is to check the "key" at the end.
The time key is at the bottom of page 2 (which was written first and as a log of medications: this is critical for bipolars to get their meds exactly right, which takes years of variation and must be coded, since doctors require that bipolars stay closeted due to publicty regarding violent crimes) weekday triggers indicate a work trigger, month patterns indicate seasonal disorder usually starting in the 4th qtr as indicated here. Years indicate home environment. Times of day for meds indicate sleeplessness or need for a stimulant in the morning which is common in early years.
Bottom of page 2:
D-W-M-Y M,D,L = Day weekday month year: morning day or latenight
These are time designations that are critical to get your meds right with bipolar and are coded for privacy
Body of page 2:
ALPNTE GLSE-SE ERTE
A: Latenight, Phenergan, taken in evening G: Latenight Serenace/Seroquel or Seroquel/Serenace Extended Release Taken Evening
VLSE MTSE-CTSE-WSE-FRTSE
V: Late Serenace Morning take Serenace
26MLSE74SPRKSE29KENOSOLE173R7RSE
2x 6mg Serenace in 1974
99-84.B2UNEPLSENCRSEAOLTSENSKSENRSE
1999 through 1988
HMCRENMRESCBE ½MUNDDLSE
1/2 tablet
NSREOUSEPUTSEWLDUCBE(3XORL)
(3 times oral)
On page 1 are lists of manic episodes, as required to diagnose bipolar:
(FLRSEPRSEONDE71NCBE)
From late september really severe episode on December 1971: No cause before episode
(CDNSEPRSEONSF/DE74NCBE)
Chronic Depression in September, really severe episode on the start of December in 1974, no cause before episode
These logs are needed forever and are why this has been so private for so long. Taken from a yahoo commenter named John. Seems like he has a grasp on this since he mentions it is a bi-polar issue which he himself has.
Interesting, could this be the solution, can anyone confirm?
|
Theres a ton of solutions... which is correct? :x
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
