One of the few uncracked codes at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia is found in Kryptos, a wonder of technology, a sculpture sitting in a sunny corner of the headquarters courtyard.
"EMUFPHZLRFAXYUSDJKZLDKRNSHGNFIVJ" is the first line of the Kryptos sculpture, a 10-foot-tall, S-shaped copper scroll perforated with 3-inch-high letters spelling out words in code resembling a piece of paper emerging from a computer printer. Completed 15 years ago, Kryptos, which is Greek for "hidden," at first attracted interest from government code breakers who deciphered the easier parts without announcing their findings publicly.
DNA Cryptography! Yes, we're starting the article by repeating the title, but that just isn't a phrase you get to say very often (if you actually exist it a real world) so we're going to enjoy it as much as possible. People are discussing how to encrypt information in your very genome, and nuclear access codes, Vin Diesel, and ninety minutes of explosions can't be far behind.
The most dangerous weapon on the battlefield of the future is information. Just ask Tom Clancy, or any of the hundred knockoffs using his name. But we grew up being told the most dangerous weapon would be lasers, usually hand-portable lasers that could be seen by the naked eye, moved slower than bullets and seemed incapable of killing anyone who wasn't wearing a full face mask. A new advance could combine both, using lasers to beam perfectly secure information around the globe.
In a world where the Chinese are apparently hacking everything in sight, spam is an everyday occurrence, and someone from Nigeria or Ghana always wants to give you money, it doesn’t come as any real surprise to learn that the Pentagon has an elite crack staff of hackers ensuring that at least the US national secrets are safe.
One of the few uncracked codes at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia is found in Kryptos, a wonder of technology, a sculpture sitting in a sunny corner of the headquarters courtyard.
"EMUFPHZLRFAXYUSDJKZLDKRNSHGNFIVJ" is the first line of the Kryptos sculpture, a 10-foot-tall, S-shaped copper scroll perforated with 3-inch-high letters spelling out words in code resembling a piece of paper emerging from a computer printer. Completed 15 years ago, Kryptos, which is Greek for "hidden," at first attracted interest from government code breakers who deciphered the easier parts without announcing their findings publicly.
DNA Cryptography! Yes, we're starting the article by repeating the title, but that just isn't a phrase you get to say very often (if you actually exist it a real world) so we're going to enjoy it as much as possible. People are discussing how to encrypt information in your very genome, and nuclear access codes, Vin Diesel, and ninety minutes of explosions can't be far behind.
The most dangerous weapon on the battlefield of the future is information. Just ask Tom Clancy, or any of the hundred knockoffs using his name. But we grew up being told the most dangerous weapon would be lasers, usually hand-portable lasers that could be seen by the naked eye, moved slower than bullets and seemed incapable of killing anyone who wasn't wearing a full face mask. A new advance could combine both, using lasers to beam perfectly secure information around the globe.
In a world where the Chinese are apparently hacking everything in sight, spam is an everyday occurrence, and someone from Nigeria or Ghana always wants to give you money, it doesn’t come as any real surprise to learn that the Pentagon has an elite crack staff of hackers ensuring that at least the US national secrets are safe.
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