Thursday
3 November 2022

This is an encrypted message!

Hopefully you can find a way to read it. Encryption is the process of scrambling text, making the transition of messages more secure.

The earliest written evidence of this dates back almost 4,000 years ago in ancient Egypt. The tomb of Khnumhotep II contained a script recording his deeds in life, but unusual hieroglyphs were used to change the original meaning. Also, around 500 BC, Spartans used an invention called a "scytale". A narrow strip of parchment was wound around the device, and text was written along the length of the device. Once the strip was wound off the cylinder, the text became unreadable unless the reader possessed an identical cylinder.

Just like these cylinders 2,500 years ago, the same technology is used today in computing. RSA keys lock text and also unlock it with using a cypher. For example, when using WhatsApp, before your message is sent it is locked using a "key". When I receive your message, it is unlocked with the "key" so that I can read it. This prevents anyone to see the message unless they are either the sender or receiver. These "keys" can come in many forms (like the scytale or RSA).

Can you discover what the "key" to this message might be?