Puzzling the Internet; CICADA 3301: 10 Quick Facts

CICADA 3301, or the “most elaborate and mysterious” cryptographic puzzles in internet history, has set insanely convoluted challenges for developers and code-breakers since 2012. Nobody knows where the puzzle comes from, who developed it (my money is on Freemasons), is the Government behind it or the Koreans, or it’s just an insignificant mind-boggling troll?

No matter who the creators are, CICADA 3301 has flabbergasted nearly every internet sleuth, code investigator, and computer analyst. Irrespective of the speculations on creators–The Illuminati or Anonymous, CICADA 3301 remains an unsolved mystery swimming from forum to blogs since 2012. Here are 10 quick facts of CICADA 3301 that will surely evoke gothic surprise: 

10 quick facts about the Cicada 3301

1. The first image of CICADA 3301 surfaces on the internet (possibly Dark Web), was released in January 2012, and was initially posted on sites like 4Chan and Reddit.
2. One clue leads to another. The puzzle, intended to tease the brightest brains, is based on data security, cryptography, and steganography.
3. Who’s behind the Puzzle? Upon reports of consistent failure in solving the puzzle, CICADA earned the popularity it has today. Many hypothesized that it was a recruitment tool developed by MI6, CIA, NSA, or a cyber mercenary group above.

   

4. After a month, in January 2012, CICADA announced that they had discovered the people they were looking for and would return with new puzzles in 2013 and 2014. True to their claims, CICADA 3301 returned with the next puzzle, which was solving the sacred book–Liber Primus, which was claimed to have hidden clues. People who solved the first stage were ordered by both CICADA and their curiosity to travel to distinguished locations in the world and locate the physical clues.
5. There is no assumed purpose in the launch of the CICADA 3301 puzzle, and this uncertainty has led to plenty of speculation. The only clues that anyone has gotten so far, are the PGP acknowledged messages from CICADA 3301 itself which states that the only declared purpose of the puzzle is recruiting highly intelligent individuals. 
6. One of the theories is sinister in its allegation, which states that CICADA 3301 might be an attempt to recruit for a cult or to just make people acquainted with occult ideas, as plenty of clues were a reference to writings from Blavatsky and Crowley.
7. Claims of Marcus Wanner: By the end of 2012, Wanner was one of the few able candidates to solve CICADA 3301, who later, in a Rolling Stone interview, claimed that he was constantly questioned about his beliefs on intellectual independence and censorship. Being the winner, he joined the “brood” and was tasked to create a software–Anonymous Key Escrow System, aimed to protect whistleblowers. Later in the interview, he mentioned that suddenly, his “brood” vanished from the forum he was working on, and he never got a chance to know what exactly CICADA and its intentions were.
8. Warnings by old members: A year after the first puzzle launch, an anonymous member posted a warning in the CICADA IRC after being a participant of the anonymous group for over a decade. In his claims, he bluntly declared that the cult-like group is a “religion disguised as a progressive scientific organization.” The encoded message then later became “The Warning.”
9. What is Liber Primus – Discovered at the end of the CICADA puzzle in 2014, the Liber Primus is a 60-page book of runes that remains undeciphered to this day. Abandoned by frustration, Liber Primus has killed the enthusiasm of several coders. There is no translation available for the “runes” language, which CICADA stated was the way to the map.
10. Only available on Dark Web: The Dark Web is already a host to several nasty and mysterious acts, and CICADA is one of them. Till date, after nearly 8 years of mystery, debates, accusations, only the creators know, what CICADA 3301 actually is.

Final Words

Only the words of Liber Primus can reveal the true meaning of CICADA. Till then, CICADA remains a frustrating mystery, a secret channel to enlightenment as it claims, or just a hoax.

CICADA 3301 is the “most elaborate and mysterious” cryptographic puzzle in Internet history. Here are 10 quick facts about CICADA 3301.