CIPHER PUZZLE
CACHES DECODED - A CAESAR SALAD!
Some cachers dread mystery/puzzle caches, especially if the puzzle is some sort of cipher.
With this new series, I would like to try to shed some light on ciphers found in
some puzzle caches out there using this cache series to show you how to identify
the different ciphers and how to solve them. I am calling this series "Cipher
Puzzle Caches Decoded". This is sort of a reboot of a series I did 14 years ago
that ended up with just a few caches in the series.
Before we jump
in, lets first go over some cipher terminology that will be helpful in solving
ciphers:
PLAINTEXT:
Is a message or text that
has not been encrypted.
CIPHERTEXT:
Is a message or test that
HAS been encrypted.
KEY or KEY TEXT:
Is a keyword, letter, or
phrase that is used to make ciphered text more difficult to solve.
CODE:
Is a kind of substitute language that is
used to hide or conceal the word in question. An example would be something like
"Pizza dinner tonight @ 5 PM" could be worded as the frisbee hits the table at 5
PM. Substituting the word "pizza" for frisbee changes the meaning of the
sentence for those who know what the code is.
BLOCK CIPHER:
A block cipher breaks a message into
a set number of pieces and encrypts one piece or block at a time.
MONOALPHABETIC CIPHER:
This is a cipher that uses a single
alphabet. Letters are usually just replaced with another letter in the same
alphabet like replacing the letter "A" with the letter "N". Caesar, Pigpen and
Playfair ciphers re all monoalphabetic ciphers.
INTRODUCTION TO
THE CIPHER: Lets kick off
this series with one of the more common cipher puzzle out there, the "Caesar
Cipher" or a shift cipher. The Caesar cipher is a classic monoalphabetic
cipher where the cipher uses a
simple letter substituion encryption where the alphabet characters "shifts"
or "rotates" so
many places down the alphabet. In a Caesar Cipher, the shift is called a
ROT
followed by a number that represents the alphabet character shift that being
represented. For instance, a ROT1 would shift an "A" and encrypt it as a letter
"B". A ROT2 would shift or encrypt the letter "A" encrypting it as a
letter "C". A ROT13
slides the letters down 13
positions encrypting the letter "A" as a letter "N", the letter "B" would
encrypt as the letter "O". Let see this in action. Lets take the following plaintext:
What you seek
is hidden in a guard rail
A ROT13 Caesar
ciphertext looks like this:
Jung lbh frrx
vf uvqqra va n thneq envy
The Caesar is
just a simple substitution cipher based upon what shift of the alphabet you are
using.
IDENTIFICATION:
The initial challenge with
all ciphers is trying to identify what type of cipher you are dealing with. You
can find clues in the cache name as well as in the text of the cache page. For
Caesar Ciphers, you want to look for words that associate salads or hailing
Caesar, etc.
One you identify that, you need to find out how what the alphabet shift or ROT
is. Again, look at the text. Look for numbers in the text that could
give you clues as to how many "shifts" the cipher has. Always check for
hidden text (white text on white background) as well as for any odd spacing in
the cache page text. These are excellent spots to check for hidden text.
Sometime back, I found a puzzle cache called "All Hail Caesar"
and the cache page went on taking about Julius Caesar. Anyway, the cache page gave
you everything you needed to know to solve the cipher.
VARIATIONS:
As with most ciphers, there
will be variations to any cipher. You just want to be aware of that. The Caesar
Cipher is no different. With the Caesar, you will want to be mindful of the use
of a keyword or letter that are added to the beginning of the substitution
alphabet and removed from their original location. This adjusts the difficulty
of the solving the cipher quite a bit.
THE SOLVE:
You can solve this cipher
as well as many others using several online decryption sites such as Geocaching
Tool Box, dCodes Tool List and for Caesar Ciphers you can try Caesar Cipher
Decryption Tool. There's also multi solvers that are out there and even sites
that can help you identify what type of
cipher you are dealing with such as the Multi Encoder Decoder site.
THIS CIPHER:
Before we get to the main
event, I do want to state that
THIS CACHE IS NOT AT THE LISTED
COORDINATES! Dont go there
unless you plan to tube down the Cedar River. This cipher will not have any
trickery. There will not be any reverse text, double ciphers, curve balls or any
other tricks that will trip you up. If you
have paid attention, you will already know what ROT this Caesar Cipher is in.
Since you have all that you need,
lets tackle the following cipher. Good luck!:
gb svaq gur
cevmr chg gur jbeq thneq vagb gur purpxre
You can validate your puzzle solution with
certitude.