Re: FBI asks for code breaking help

[Joel Esler <joel.esler () me com>]

Again, reassuring me that our gov't really can't crack and read everything that we have. 

-- 
Joel Esler
http://blog.joelesler.net
Twitter: http://twitter.com/joelesler

On Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 8:43 AM, Danny McPherson wrote: 
> <http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/march/cryptanalysis_032911>
>
> On June 30, 1999, sheriff’s officers in St. Louis, Missouri discovered the body of 41-year-old Ricky McCormick. He 
> had been murdered and dumped in a field. The only clues regarding the homicide were two encrypted notes found in the 
> victim’s pants pockets.
>
> Despite extensive work by our Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit (CRRU), as well as help from the American 
> Cryptogram Association, the meanings of those two coded notes remain a mystery to this day, and Ricky McCormick’s 
> murderer has yet to face justice.
>
> “We are really good at what we do,” said CRRU chief Dan Olson, “but we could use some help with this one.”
>
> In fact, Ricky McCormick’s encrypted notes are one of CRRU’s top unsolved cases. “Breaking the code,” said Olson, 
> “could reveal the victim’s whereabouts before his death and could lead to the solution of a homicide. Not every 
> cipher we get arrives at our door under those circumstances.”
>
> The more than 30 lines of coded material use a maddening variety of letters, numbers, dashes, and parentheses. 
> McCormick was a high school dropout, but he was able to read and write and was said to be “street smart.” According 
> to members of his family, McCormick had used such encrypted notes since he was a boy, but apparently no one in his 
> family knows how to decipher the codes, and it’s unknown whether anyone besides McCormick could translate his secret 
> language. Investigators believe the notes in McCormick’s pockets were written up to three days before his death.
>
> Breaking any code involves 
> four basic steps:
>
> 1. determining the language used; 
> 2. determining the system used; 
> 3. reconstructing the key; and 
> 4. reconstructing the plaintext.
>
> Consider this cipher: Nffu nf bu uif qbsl bu oppo.
>
> Now apply the four steps:
>
> 1. Determining the language allows you to compare the cipher text to the suspected language. Our cryptanalysts 
> usually start with English.
>
> 2. Determining the system: Is this cipher using rearranged words, replaced words, or perhaps letter substitution? In 
> this case, it’s letter substitution.
>
> 3. Reconstructing the key: This step answers the question of how the code maker changed the letters. In our example, 
> every character shifted one letter to the right in the alphabet. 
>
> 4. Reconstructing the plaintext: By applying the key from the previous step, you now have a solution: Meet me at the 
> park at noon.
>
> Over the years, a number of CRRU’s examiners—who are experts at breaking codes—have puzzled over the McCormick notes 
> and applied a variety of analytical techniques to tease out an answer. “Standard routes of cryptanalysis seem to have 
> hit brick walls,” Olson noted. Our cryptanalysts have several plausible theories about the notes, but so far, there 
> has been no solution.
>
> To move the case forward, examiners need another sample of McCormick’s coded system—or a similar one—that might offer 
> context to the mystery notes or allow valuable comparisons to be made. Or, short of new evidence, Olson said, “Maybe 
> someone with a fresh set of eyes might come up with a brilliant new idea.”
>
> That’s where the public comes in. The FBI has always relied on tips and other assistance from the public to solve 
> crimes, and although breaking a code may represent a special circumstance, your help could aid the investigation. 
> Take a look at McCormick’s two notes. If you have an idea how to break the code, have seen similar codes, or have any 
> information about the Ricky McCormick case, send them to us online athttp://forms.fbi.gov/code write to CRRU at the 
> following address:
>
> FBI Laboratory
> Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit
> 2501 Investigation Parkway
> Quantico, VA 22135
> Attn: Ricky McCormick Case
>
> There is no reward being offered, just a challenge—and the satisfaction of knowing that your brain power might help 
> bring a killer to justice.
>
> “Even if we found out that he was writing a grocery list or a love letter,” Olson said, “we would still want to see 
> how the code is solved. This is a cipher system we know nothing about.”
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