Pirate Treasure - Cryptography
Pirate Treasure - Cryptography
plaintext a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C
The process of creating a secret message is called encryption (it is what the sender does) and the process
of translating the secret message back is called decryption (it is what the receiver does). The original
message is known as the plaintext and the encrypted plaintext is called the ciphertext.
Although the terms are often used interchangeably, ciphers are different from codes. When you substitute
one word for another word or sentence, like using a foreign language, you are using a code. When you
mix up or substitute existing letters, you are using a cipher.
Single key ciphers are broken into two main categories: substitution ciphers and transposition ciphers.
Substitution ciphers replace letters in the plaintext with other letters, but the order in which the symbols
occur remains the same (Caesar cipher). Sometimes symbols other than letters have been substituted (The
Tic-Tac-Toe cipher). In transposition ciphers the letters may remain the same but the arrangement or
transposition has changed. Let's look at some examples.
Substitution Ciphers
Substitution ciphers replace letters in the plaintext with other letters or symbols, but the order in which the
symbols occur remains the same. The Caesar cipher table below has a shift of 8 Let's call this key CCS8
(Caesar cipher shift 8).
plaintext a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
ciphertext S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R
1. Try your hand. Encrypt the plaintext: "Blackbeard is in Jamaica" using CCS8:
b l a c k b e a r d i s i n j a m a i c a
2. Decrypt the ciphertext using CCS8: "LZW LJWSKMJW AK TMJAWV GF KCMDD AKDSFV"
L Z W L J W S K M J W A K T M J A W V G F K C M D D A K D S F V
Tic-‐Tac-‐Toe
Cipher
A substitution cipher found in children's books and beginning
cryptography texts is the Tic-Tac-Toe cipher or sometimes called
A B C J K L
the Pigpen cipher (the letters are put in pens like pigs). A variation
of this cipher is used in the computer game Assassin's Creed II.
D E F M N O
This is an example of a substitution cipher called a diagrammatic
cipher. G H I P Q R
The phrase: "The parrot knows" would be encrypted as:
S W
T U X Y
7. Use the Tic-Tac-Toe cipher TTTC.H (Tic-Tac-Toe cipher V Z
horizontal) to decipher the ciphertext:
Plaintext: __________________________________________
Clock Arithmetic.
If it is 5 o'clock then 6 hours later it will be 11 o'clock (5 + 6 = 11). However if it were 8 o'clock then 6
hours later would the time be 14 o'clock (8 + 6 = 14)? Well, perhaps on a 24-hour military clock but not on
a 12-hour clock. On a regular 12-hour clock 8 + 6 is 2. Every time we pass 12 o'clock we start counting
over at 1. This kind of arithmetic is called clock arithmetic, or more formally, modular arithmetic. On a
clock you can add any two numbers and the sum is always one of the numbers 1-12.
A clock with only five hours or positions is shown to the right. If the 0
hand is on the 2 then four hours later where will the hand be pointing?
The hand will be on the 1. (On this clock 2+4 = 1) 4 1
Notice, when you add any two numbers on a clock with only five
numbers (0, 1, 2, 3, 4), the sum is always one of the numbers 0 - 4. The
sum 3 + 4 = 7 but 7 on this clock is really 2, so 3 + 4 = 2. In modular 3 2
arithmetic this is written 7 ≡ 2 mod 5 ("7 is congruent to 2 modulo 5").
Affine
Cipher
What does clock arithmetic have to do with ciphers? Well, with the ability to reduce any number to one of
the numbers in mod 26 {0, 1, 2, 3, ... 23, 24, 25} we can create a more complex substitution for the 26
© 2012 Michael Serra 3 [email protected]
letters of the alphabet. This cipher system is called an Affine cipher. In an affine cipher each letter of the
alphabet is converted to its numerical equivalent by a mathematical function using mod 26. Here is a closer
look at the process.
STEP 1: begin by listing the alphabet and assigning a number, {0, 1, 2, 3, ... 23, 24, 25} to each.
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
STEP 2: select a multiplier. For this cipher let's multiply by 7 (the multiplier must not contain a factor of
26) and then add 11. Multiply each number in the table by 7 then add 11 and place the result in the next
row (third row) of your table.
alphabet a b c d e f g h i j k l m
convert to numbers 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
X by 7 then +11 11 18 25 32 39 46 53 60 67 74 81 88 95
alphabet n o p q r s t u v w x y z
convert to numbers 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
X by 7 then +11 102 109 116 123 130 137 144 151 158 165 172 179 186
STEP 3: reduce each number in the third row to mod 26 and place in the fourth row of the table.
alphabet a b c d e f g h i j k l m
convert to numbers 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
X by 7 then +11 11 18 25 32 39 46 53 60 67 74 81 88 95
convert to mod 26 11 18 25 6 13 20 1 8 15 22 3 10 17
alphabet n o p q r s t u v w x y z
convert to numbers 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
X by 7 then +11 102 109 116 123 130 137 144 151 158 165 172 179 186
convert to mod 26 24 5 12 19 0 7 14 21 2 9 16 23 4
STEP 4: convert each number in the fourth row to the corresponding letter of the alphabet and place in the
fifth row of the table.
alphabet a b c d e f g h i j k l m
convert to numbers 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
X by 7 then +11 11 18 25 32 39 46 53 60 67 74 81 88 95
convert to mod 26 11 18 25 6 13 20 1 8 15 22 3 10 17
convert to alphabet L S Z G N U B I P W D K R
alphabet n o p q r s t u v w x y z
convert to numbers 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
X by 7 then +11 102 109 116 123 130 137 144 151 158 165 172 179 186
convert to mod 26 24 5 12 19 0 7 14 21 2 9 16 23 4
convert to alphabet Y F M T A H O V C J Q X E
Now we have our key AC.M7.A11 (affine cipher multiply by 7 then add 11)
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
L S Z G N U B I P W D K R Y F M T A H O V C J Q X E
Grille
Cipher
One transposition cipher, the grille cipher, positions the ciphertext in a square grid. The cipher key is a
square grid with cut-out squares called the grille. To decipher the message you place the grille over the
ciphertext square grid and read off the letters showing through the cut-out squares as they appear, left to
right top to bottom. Next, you rotate the grille 90° clockwise and again read the letters. Rotate the grille
180° and repeat. Finally rotate the grille 270° and repeat.
For example the message "dig here 3 feet down" when
encrypted looks like the 4x4 grid to the near right. The
grille is show to the far right.
d d f e
When the grille is placed over the ciphertext (4x4 grid) the r i e g
beginning of the message is revealed "digh". When the
grille is rotated 90° clockwise the message continues e o e w
"ere3".
n h 3 t
Let's call this cipher key the GC.S.1.6.8.14. (grille cipher on a square with holes at squares 1, 6, 8, and
14.) The four positions of the grille are shown below revealing the message.
d e f d
i g r e
e e o w
h 3 t n
0° rotation 90° rotation 180° rotation 270° rotation
You might be wondering, how do you create the grille? First notice that the positions of the four holes in
the grille cover all 16 squares of the 4x4 grid when the grille has been rotated into all four positions. How
is that done?
Notice that the "A" in the first upper left A
A
B C
square will move to the other three positions D
C
B
positions.
So you select one of the A positions, one of the "B" positions, one of the "C" positions, and one of the "D"
positions for your holes in the grille. These four positions cover all 16 squares after the rotations.
We recently came across an old seaman's chest that contained 30 island maps, a
document titled Island Notes, and another document showing a 4x11 grid filled with
mysterious symbols. We believe that these maps and the accompanying documents
hold the secrets to finding pirate treasure buried on each of these islands. The Island
Notes document seems to be written in various cipher systems that when deciphered
will direct treasure hunters to this pirate's buried treasure. The document that
contains geometric figures and a skeleton key appears to be a table that tells which
type of cipher system that is used for each secret message on the Island Notes
document. The dark splotches on this document seem to be spilled blood covering up some of the words
and symbols.
It will be helpful to read about cryptography, the science of writing secret messages, in the appendix before
attempting the pirate buried treasure puzzles that follow.
1 of 1 4/4/08 4:44 PM
Island Notes
1. Cayman Key
UPUMN%SY%MWUFFSQUA.%AIFX%XIOVFIIHM%VY%SIOLM%MBIOFX%SY%XCA%NQYHNS% KW.
JUWYM%HILNB%IZ%NBY%GUHAI%NLYY.%% AC.M5.A19 KW.treasure
mathematics
2. Barbossa Island
FDQMEGDQ%NQ%KAGDE%YMFQK%UR%KAG%PUS%YUPIMK%NQFIQQZ%FTQ%BMXY%FDQQ% KW.Long
AC.M3.A1 TTTC.H
MZP%ODAOAPUXQ%EWGXX%% John Silver
3. Isla Sirena
ZR%XD%RSDOR%NEE%SGD%RGHO%ZS%CDZC%LZM'R%BNUD%VZKJ%ENQSX%OZBDR%EHESX%
CDFQDDR%VDRS%NE%MNQSG%ZMC%LX%SQDZRTQD%ZVZHSR%XD.%%%
AC.M11.A21 AC.M9.A11 6x6G.H
4. Blackbeard Island
GC.S. GC.S. GC.S.
NK%DJ%BFQP%KTWYD%RJYJWX%KWTR%GQFHPGJFWI'X%YTRGXYTSJ%YTBFWIX%
IJGYTW'X%UWNXTS%DJ%XMFQQ%INL%KTW%ITZGQTTSX.% 1.5.11.16.18.20.31.33. 1.5.11.16.18.20.31.33. 4.8.12.13.17.21.26.
36.38.43.48.52.55.58. 36.38.43.48.52.55.58. 31.35.39.42.45.52.
5. Haunted Isle 62. 62. 58.60.62.68.71.73.
ESJWF%B%TUBLF%NJEXBZ%CFUXJYU%UIF%KPMMZ%SPHFS%JOO%BOE%TLFMFUPO%CPVMEFS.% 78.88.92.94.98.
GSPN%EFBE%NBO'T%EPDL%XBML%UXFOUZ%NFUFST%UPXBSET%UIF%TUBLF%BOE%NZ%
USFBTVSF%CF%ZPVST.%
6. Skeleton Key
GNUE%SGZKE.%ZNK%ZXKGYAXK%HK%EUAXY%YNUARJ%EUA%JOM%15%SKZKXY%LXUS%ZNK%
6x6G.V TTTC.V DC.1234/9999
HXKGJLXAOZ%ZXKK%GTJ%20%SKZKXY%LXUS%SUXMGT'Y%MXGBK%
7. Doubloon Island
TP%%T%%ADOPTJES%%KU%%UDVS%%ISPSNO%%UNKI%%YS%%KHAS%%ETOPHS%%WTHH%%TJA%%
DC.4/7 CCS12 DC.5/13
PWSJPY%%UDVS%%ISPSNO%%UNKI%%PCS%%ESISPSNY%%BTPS,%%PWK%%LKOODRDHDPDSO%
PCSNS%%RS.%%ADB%%JKP%%RY%%RHTEGRSTNA'O%%PKIROPKJS%%RQP%%TC,%%PCS%%KPCSN%% AC.M7.A1
PCSNS%%YS%%OCTHH%%UDJA%%IS%%PNSTOQNS%%ITPS.
(mod36)
CCS25 CCS20
8. Skull Island
TLJE%GMHQ%RBQ%RPEMQUPE%RL%AE%ILUKH.%IPLJ%GEMNBKC%GBZMPH%QMGLLK%
WMGF%QRPMBCSR%MQ%YE%AE%MTPLQQ%DERQMJ%PBVEP%APBHCE%MKH%TLKRBKUE% 6x6G.CS CCNS5 DC.7/13
QRPMBCSR%ILP%MKLRSEP%IBIRY%NMTEQ%MKH%HBC.%
9. Privateer Island
MLNRLB,%BDMSLC,%LCG%RVGG.%%YJ%PILAA%HVCG%QDBOPQDCJP%QIMJJ.%%BY%
QMJLPTMJ%PILAA%OJ%OTMVJG%JKTLAAY%HMDB%LAA%QIMJJ.% CCS6 CCS6 CCS1
10. Demon Island
% GC.H.
KW.Treasure 6x6G.CCS
Island 2.12.15.19.25.28.33.
% 47.50
! L o r e o m e i
TP T ADOPTJES KU UDVS ISPSNO UNKI YS KHAS ETOPHS WTHH TJA
2. Barbossa
PWSJPY IslandUNKI
UDVS ISPSNO
2 s d n C m b a g
PCS ESISPSNY BTPS, PWK
FDQMEGDQ NQ KAGDE 3 e J UR
YMFQK u KAG
o l PUSt rYUPIMK
i NQFIQQZ FTQ
LKOODRDHDPDSO PCSNS RS. ADB JKP RY RHTEGRSTNA'O PKIROPKJS
BMXY
RQP FDQQ
TC, PCSMZP ODAOAPUXQ
KPCSN c i
PCSNS YSEWGXX
4 e e r d h s
OCTHH UDJA IS PNSTOQNS ITPS.
n N o s J t a t
5
3. Skull
8. Isla Sirena
Island 6 w c r o o k r e
ZR XD
TLJE RSDOR
GMHQ NEE
RBQ SGD RGHO
RPEMQUPE ZS
RL CDZC LZM'Rs BNUD
h c ILUKH.
AE a u hIPLJ
VZKJ ENQSX
GEMNBKC GBZMPHOZBDR
7 t a
EHESX CDFQDDR
QMGLLK DZRS NE MNQSG
WMGF QRPMBCSR MQ YE ZMC LX SQDZRTQD
AE MTPLQQ ZVZHSR
DERQMJ PBVEP XD.
APBHCE
8 v u n f e r d r
MKH TLKRBKUE QRPMBCSR ILP MKLRSEP IBIRY NMTEQ MKH HBC.
4. Blackbeard Island
9.
15. Privateer
Crocodile
NK DJ Island
Key
BFQP KTWYD RJYJWX KWTR GQFHPGJFWI'X YTRGXYTSJ
YTBFWIX BDMSLC,
MLNRLB, IJGYTW'XLCG
UWNXTS
RVGG.DJYJ
XMFQQ
PILAAINL KTW
HVCG ITZGQTTSX.QIMJJ. BY
QDBOPQDCJP
GWN!GANBDJAN!ZD!EJAZNK!DZS!LNGNAD!QARL!GWN!UBIL!GANN!BOK!KJN!
ORAGW!RQ!GWN!TBIIRPD.!
QMJLPTMJ PILAA OJ OTMVJG JKTLAAY HMDB LAA QIMJJ.
5. Haunted Isle
16.
10.
20.
ESJWFDevil's
Demon
Crescent Island
B TUBLFIsland
Key CFUXJYU UIF KPMMZ
NJEXBZ 1 2 3 4
SPHFS 5 6
JOO 7 8
BOE TLFMFUPO
1 T d b o w t s f
!AM1N!0O3!N1U1GV0O!B0!N3MNBVW!P1E3!LBG9!5D!N303MT!B0!BU!BUHG3!1A!YC!
CPVMEFS. GSPN EFBE NBO'T EPDL XBML UXFOUZ NFUFST UPXBSET UIF TUBLF
W3HM33T!3BT0!1A!U1M0O!BUW!WVH!NB03T!WVH.!
!BOE NZ USFBTVSF CF ZPVST. 2 J t e r o a e n
!17. Isla Marsopa
6. Skeleton Key 3 n t c y a e k s
! 4 u R y a e c m s
EIHP!UGLDX!ULIA!FYY!BLGX!AHBLIMR!MLST!OHYVR!DVPVAVIT!EHI!ABVYAT!EFSV!
!GNUE SGZKE. ZNK ZXKGYAXK HK EUAXY YNUARJ EUA JOM 15 SKZKXY
LXUS ZNK HXKGJLXAOZ ZXKK GTJ 5 e h r
20 SKZKXY t eLXUS e gSUXMGT'Y
!RAVQR,!AJIY!GVEA!LYM!BLGX!LYHAWVI!EFSV!RAVQR!LYM!AWV!AIVLRJIV!UV! k MXGBK
!THJIR.!! 6 h a r a a l l s
7. Doubloon Island
!18. Buccaneer Island 7 l m o W t f e r
TP T ADOPTJES KU UDVS ISPSNO UNKI YS KHAS ETOPHS WTHH TJA
!JN!LWIN!KANTFPAN!YN!CHIING!SHSKJ!BNKNAF!SALB!KCN!DNGKNA!LS!KCN!DLWI!
8 e s o i X t m n
PWSJPY UDVS ISPSNO UNKI PCS ESISPSNY BTPS, PWK
AHUNA!YAHIXN!TGI!KCHAKJ!BNKNAF!SALB!KCN!DNBNKNAJ!ZTWW.!!
21. Isla MariposaPCSNS RS. ADB JKP RY RHTEGRSTNA'O PKIROPKJS
LKOODRDHDPDSO
26.62.65.14.
19.
RQP Monkey
TC, PCS14.62.22.12.65.62.62.63.31.
IslandPCSNS YS OCTHH
KPCSN 11.41.15.UDJA
21.62.IS12.15.
PNSTOQNS ITPS. 46.16.!!!
16.62.22.63.14.
35.15.!!!24.11.65.66.!!!16.41.62.64.!!!21.36.15.!!!13.11.31.21.65.15.!!!26.11.21.15.!!!34.55.55.!!!
YATX!WUN!UVIJXVI'L!WANN!DVMB!WTDVACL!LBHMM!ATRB!YTA!10!XNWNAL!VIC!
8. Skull Island
61.11.13.15.31.!!!21.36.41.62.22.26.36.!!!21.36.15.!!!21.24.46.63.!!!
WUNAN!ZN!LUVMM!YFIC!CTHGMTTIL!VEMNIWZ.!!!
64.62.63.62.65.46.21.36.31.!
!TLJE GMHQ RBQ RPEMQUPE RL AE ILUKH. IPLJ GEMNBKC GBZMPH
QMGLLK
22. WMGF
Místico QRPMBCSR MQ YE AE MTPLQQ DERQMJ PBVEP APBHCE
Island
MKH TLKRBKUE QRPMBCSR ILP MKLRSEP IBIRY NMTEQ MKH HBC.
AMJH OC9 AMJIO NO9KN JA EJGGT MJB9M DII N9I8 JI9 6P7FJ R5GFDIB DI
OC9
9. 8DM97ODJL
Privateer JA NFPGG HJPIO5DI AJM WVV H9O9MN 5I8 5IJOC9M 6P7FJ JI
Island
5 7JPMN9 OJR5M8N 75KMD7JMI KJDIO AJM 3V H9O9MN. OC9 OM95NPM9
MLNRLB,AJMHN
GJ75ODJI BDMSLC,5I LCG RVGG. YJ OMD5IBG9
9LPDG5O9M5G PILAA HVCG QDBOPQDCJP
RDOC QIMJJ. BY
OC9 ORJ 6P7FJN
QMJLPTMJ PILAA OJ OTMVJG JKTLAAY HMDB LAA QIMJJ.
23. Serpent Island
10. Demon Island
LRTH!!!HF!!!DRCVY!!!JK!!!BM!!!AGMP!!!IZSS!!!DWRKSJJQH!!!AOAMQ!!!UWGQ!!!UTZIVJT!!!LDBSX!!!
HQHV!!!JUS!!!F!!!KCRJSJG!!!UIZFWV!!!BYXO!!!WLOLZ!!!XFOS!!!WOYYB!!!UIZFWV.!!!LVOWJ!!!D!!!
AXGLJ.!!!GQK!!!SJIZIC!!!HFYZQBZ!!!ZTXZ!!!WZBPH!!!IRJ!!!UMH!!!OMGOY!!!EWYREJU!!!IXUQ!!!
NJCETB!!!MLTP.!
24. Isla Tesoro
OSGA HGS FTPS UMHF ANTRCH JMNOHG SNILPY JTESO PHWTMAO ITGIJCTGB
OTCHHG TGA OSGA T OSEHGA FTPS UMHF PLS ITCCHWO ONXPY JTESO PHWTMAO
LHI'O LSTA PTVSMG. UNGA PLS JHNGP FNAWTY RSPWSSG PLS PWH TGA
PMSTOQMS RS YS MSWTMA.
h d o f e i r r r t r o
25. Isla de los Muerto
m h 3 e t 0 c w h t p a
!
! i e o l a k h c n 4 a e
© 2012 Michael
! Serra 0 s 7n e o g p f [email protected]
a a d
! s e c a e t x g s n a s
! d t o m x a t r n l e u
Cipher Key Document
KW.
AC.M5.A19 KW.treasure
mathematics
KW.Long
AC.M3.A1 TTTC.H
John Silver
AC.M7.A1
(mod36)
CCS25 CCS20
KW.Treasure GC.H.
2.12.15.19.25.28.33.
6x6G.CCS
Island
47.50