Only one cipher remains unsolved now. That’s good because it can now be focused upon. I will again look for optimizations this weekend and start the attack on the last cipher monday.

Nice work!
Which cipher is it? I will double check it to make sure I didn’t mess up the encryption.

The 6th one:

*%dZ9|bVz#6S;3Db)
MKUzd#-F3&.C>yKT:
zlV5j9DM9:;7yj2bZ
/XHGAXNlfqFG3X-3T
kS9<ZN2ATYZy7Mf%)
H8pUj|RD^Z5zB(dM.
%MXtNq%M5_j&P:>)>
+SO&c@:q&y3:(>./5
Y(/Bb9Z/-;+6SBzU8
P2LpB%X:/NkAPEjMO
3X4jO&d6^pP8/Hd#2
R9_#fP*Dtyk2PK/Z_
E1F#2R7t:@.2;Ky:Z
VD5j8MdJCDVAJ7tVY
@AdKJG+d#pPtjBU;T
*F+MJD3VMJ9R:P7AD
*XXASVNdBVkG3&+Dq
RN9%_b&VO_T7P4W:S
OFlN^+5;C/UkcDTzd
qEON1721k1Cq%)Tkt

Can you also run through the non-shifted plain text and just tell me the AZdecrypt score? Thanks.

I will send you the solutions to the others.

Can you also run through the non-shifted plain text and just tell me the AZdecrypt score? Thanks.

Using http://jarlve.vdm-service.be/
Score: 22604.66
Ioc: 0.06504

I did not detect any encipherment errors.

Thanks.

Here is a .7z that contains a build of AZdecrypt with the new Polyphones menu and Hafer solvers etc. Also included are a size reduced version of beijinghouse’s 6-grams (which work great with most of these ciphers) and all doranchak’s 10 ciphers and 9 solutions. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nc7xV2 … sp=sharing

To work with the Hafer shifts solver select the "Substitution + polyphones" solver and click on Solve. In the new window that pops up select "Hafer shifts -N/+N" and now click on Solve again in the main window.

If you want to see a quick result then pick the cipher "doranchak 10", it will solve with standard 5-grams as well.

Very nice, Jarlve – thanks for sharing the new build!

Only one cipher remains unsolved now. That’s good because it can now be focused upon. I will again look for optimizations this weekend and start the attack on the last cipher monday.

It remains unsolved. I did 2 runs with 6-grams (each about 1.5 days runtime) and 2 runs with 7-grams (each about 2.5 days runtime) using my reddit and beijinghouse’s n-grams.

I didn’t find any problems with the solver and believe the cause is that the plain text of the 6th cipher is significantly worse than the other 8. Such that its solution score sits below the noise level score for 6 and 7-grams. I would prefer not to know the solution so that it can be worked on at a later time. It should be attacked with 8-grams also but that will take the better part of 2 weeks and that feels a bit much right now. Hoping to buy a new PC next year to speed up such tasks.

I’ve started the attack on the Z340 and will run it through with both 6 and 7-grams, that will take another week.

Here are the Hafer results for the Z340. Pretty sure that it didn’t solve:

Reddit 6-grams:

Score: 23787.60 IOC: 0.0768 Multiplicity: 0.2323 Hours: 11.81
Repeats: ATETH CALLY ETHE (2) NETH EAND THAT ASTH HERE THE
PC-cycles: 218

Symbols: 79

Key: -4/+4

GINGLETHIRETORTOT
ELSEANDIFHERESDET
ENYEASTITHATONTOC
ALLYBEISHALLSANDO
RCASTHATETHISCORE
DINTHELASTERPGOFA
NTALKINGTWITHRTOM
ATOCEANDARMETABOU
TWASUSINGHEENVIOL
ATETHATCALLYWHENS
TANETHIMFEEDURALL
OWEENCESTROARACEP
TICANNAMETHEWANIN
ETHEBETOOURWHOHAS
NEITSYOUMIGHTITSA
MERATEDALLBREAKTO
NERSOTIMESHEHEMTO
ASTHETHEIDAGREATD
EPRTHEYHERELESSME
GANGEDRATILIVEDNA


beijinghouse 6-grams:

Score: 24176.20 IOC: 0.0630 Multiplicity: 0.2235 Hours: 1.62
Repeats: STOTH THAT (2) NTHE INGL RUNT HAT (2) PLA NTH ING (2)
PC-cycles: 465

Symbols: 76

Key: -7/+7

OLLIMAYBRAINGONST
RACTITSAFTEREADIN
HAVEFORUNTINGTOOL
LMANYABOBWASCOLDS
UPFOODSTINTROMEAK
ABLYHASTOTHATISFI
TNODIAMGREENBROUW
INGLISTSCUREACOUP
TEROFOULSTHEARTED
TOARBOYLOSANETHAT
ROLKNDLIFETAFORDS
SEEALLIANCEFROMTH
ATPLATORINTHEIMPL
ANTRYINGEFFEBEDCO
ATENOVEPHLIBRUNTO
WERWATDISMYFIRING
LECOUNTHECHATHING
CONTHATERSLOOKINA
WHATTENDTUESTOTHE
IRFORMALOUSPRIDMO


Reddit 7-grams:

Score: 21467.61 IOC: 0.0748 Multiplicity: 0.2705 Hours: 17.69
Repeats: YOURE STHEM EDIT SAND AGAT RECA THER INTO EVER TTHE
PC-cycles: 206

Symbols: 92

Key: -7/+7

LOSUMFORMYPONDERC
LASSTHEMENTSWITHI
STHATSEVENTINTOLA
CAMEOFFIREMESEETR
UTHSONTOPSOMETIME
ARECAREFUCKYOURET
HEETHMOREAMERSAND
HERATTHESULTASINT
OWHENEVERAGATEDIT
FORERECASEMEWASTR
ESSESNOPETSANDTHE
RWAREADIEDITGETGO
ODTOTHELPSAGATORS
REALCHERINGORINSE
TSYOUHITYOUREVERS
PAGEASTHEMOSTTHER
EAREBODYWEARNSPIN
ESINKANAMEOLDEHIM
DAYONWEBSITESIFYO
UTELLMYCOVEREDTOS


beijinghouse 7-grams:

Score: 22118.17 IOC: 0.0631 Multiplicity: 0.2647 Days: 1.12
Repeats: OFTHE (2) ALSO ORTH THO THE (4) ONA DIE NDS
PC-cycles: 282

Symbols: 90

Key: -11/+11

DURTAXDOWNPLAIDED
BASICALTHEUCKUPAL
INGISOFTHECLEANDS
OWARDTOYOUALSORTI
ONSONANDTHEWOMENS
WORDETHEYDONATELY
ADOPTTHEFINDSCRAT
CHESANALSOBURSTAN
DGOONSTREAMINUTEP
ARTFOODSOLARGEINA
FORSHAUTHUMANISTL
IKETVSTUDIESCOMME
NTNONEOFTHEMICHOR
THEFDADIENCESEASO
NINLYGENOUTOFTHES
PECURITYHADCASTHE
REISALTOGOEXAMPLE
SSHEKNEEWHODISCHA
PANDAGRAMOULIYAKI
TOLDBANORTHOUTTHO

DUR TAX DOWN PLAIDED BASICAL THEUCK U PALING
IS OF THE CLE AND SOWARD TO YOU AL SORTIONSON
AND THE WO MEN S WORDE THEY DONATELY ADOPT
THE FIND SCRATCHESAN ALSO BURST AND GOON
STRE A MINUTEPART FOOD SO LARGE INA FORSH
AUT HU MANIST LIKE TO STUDIES COMMENT N ONE
OF THE MICHOR THEFDADIENCE SEAS ONINLYGEN
OUT OF TH E SPECURITY HAD CAS THEREIS AL
TO GO EXAMPLES S HE KNEE WHO DISCHAP ANDAGR
A MOU LIYAK I TOLD B A NORTHOUTTHO

Thanks for giving it a try, Jarlve. I suppose this rules out Z340 being enciphered using Hafer shifts.

Let me know if you need the plaintext for that one test cipher that didn’t solve.

Meanwhile, Bart from the ACA mentioned a type of simple progressive shift encipherment I don’t think I’ve seen before:

Take a plaintext: HELLO
Convert to numbers (A=0, B=1, C=2 etc): 7 4 11 11 14
Then convert to the differences between the successive numbers (start with zero):
7 – 0 = 7
4 – 7 = -3 = 23 (wrap around the 26 letter alphabet)
11 – 4 = 7
11 – 11 = 0
14 – 11 = 3
So the new number sequence is: 7 23 7 0 3
Convert back to letters to form cipher text: HXHAD

Does azdecrypt have a solver that can handle this?

I’m also imagining simple variants like calculate differences between every N letters instead of just the successive ones.
Or including an additional shift value with each difference calculation.
Or use addition instead of subtraction.
Or swap the letters before subtracting.
Etc.

Thanks for giving it a try, Jarlve. I suppose this rules out Z340 being enciphered using Hafer shifts.

Probably. But I would like to revisit it some time.

Meanwhile, Bart from the ACA mentioned a type of simple progressive shift encipherment I don’t think I’ve seen before:

Take a plaintext: HELLO
Convert to numbers (A=0, B=1, C=2 etc): 7 4 11 11 14
Then convert to the differences between the successive numbers (start with zero):
7 – 0 = 7
4 – 7 = -3 = 23 (wrap around the 26 letter alphabet)
11 – 4 = 7
11 – 11 = 0
14 – 11 = 3
So the new number sequence is: 7 23 7 0 3
Convert back to letters to form cipher text: HXHAD

Does azdecrypt have a solver that can handle this?

I’m also imagining simple variants like calculate differences between every N letters instead of just the successive ones.
Or including an additional shift value with each difference calculation.
Or use addition instead of subtraction.
Or swap the letters before subtracting.
Etc.

Cool idea and thanks for mentioning. I guess that’s what they call a running key of a sort? I don’t think that AZdecrypt can handle it but I would like to look into it. I am currently working on AZdecrypt 1.19 so it’ll have to wait a bit.

Thank you, Jarlve, doranchak, and Sam. Is he a member of this site?

I was at work yesterday and a coworker told me that the Zodiac 340 had been solved as I passed by her cubicle. She was reading it in the news. I said, "yeah, sure they did. People make up false solutions all of the time. It’s probably not really solved." Then she told me that David Oranchak was the person that the news article was about. And I said, "Oh. Well that is different. If he said that it is solved, then it is solved."

I went home after that. I looked up the article, found the video and watched it. Had a few beers, ate dinner, watched some television, and went to sleep. It was like my brain couldn’t process reality. I woke up this morning, and asked myself, "did that really happen? Was that a dream?"

Thank you so much Jarlve, doranchak and Sam. Thank God it is over. Thank you so much for mentioning me in the video. It really means a lot to me. I am so proud of you three, you have no idea. And I agree with Largo. I am so glad that you are the people who solved it instead of someone else taking the ideas posted on this site.

It is going to be a lot of fun getting answers to all of the questions that we have had over the last several years.

The inscription. Wow. I remember working with Jarlve on something so similar, the idea of breaking the message up into chunks based on a very similar reading path. We were so close, but were trying to do it with the entire message instead of a 9 line chunk. Jarlve, we were so close with those ideas!!! I am overjoyed that Sam showed up to help out. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And the cycles, the pivots, the regional bias symbols, and all of the other phenomenon. It is going to be very interesting to find out which were red-herrings, which were caused by the cipher, if he played any intentional games while encoding.

You guys are going to be in the Cryptography Hall of Fame, if there is one. I mean, this is really big. And you deserve it.

Thanks again.

Thank you, Jarlve, doranchak, and Sam. Is he a member of this site?

I was at work yesterday and a coworker told me that the Zodiac 340 had been solved as I passed by her cubicle. She was reading it in the news. I said, "yeah, sure they did. People make up false solutions all of the time. It’s probably not really solved." Then she told me that David Oranchak was the person that the news article was about. And I said, "Oh. Well that is different. If he said that it is solved, then it is solved."

I went home after that. I looked up the article, found the video and watched it. Had a few beers, ate dinner, watched some television, and went to sleep. It was like my brain couldn’t process reality. I woke up this morning, and asked myself, "did that really happen? Was that a dream?"

Thank you so much Jarlve, doranchak and Sam. Thank God it is over. Thank you so much for mentioning me in the video. It really means a lot to me. I am so proud of you three, you have no idea. And I agree with Largo. I am so glad that you are the people who solved it instead of someone else taking the ideas posted on this site.

It is going to be a lot of fun getting answers to all of the questions that we have had over the last several years.

The inscription. Wow. I remember working with Jarlve on something so similar, the idea of breaking the message up into chunks based on a very similar reading path. We were so close, but were trying to do it with the entire message instead of a 9 line chunk. Jarlve, we were so close with those ideas!!! I am overjoyed that Sam showed up to help out. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And the cycles, the pivots, the regional bias symbols, and all of the other phenomenon. It is going to be very interesting to find out which were red-herrings, which were caused by the cipher, if he played any intentional games while encoding.

You guys are going to be in the Cryptography Hall of Fame, if there is one. I mean, this is really big. And you deserve it.

Thanks again.

hi smokie .. great to hear from you.. what a journey it has been . i am so glad you were a part of this .. i always said the result would be because of smokie doranchak and jarlve.. the holy trio of amature code crackers

viewtopic.php?f=81&t=4805
may 2020 is this the solution jarlve when we discussed a three part disection

H+M8|CV@KEB+*5k.L
dR(UVFFz9<>#Z3P>L
(MpOGp+2|G+l%WO&D
#2b^D(+4(5J+VW)+k
p+fZPYLR/8KjRk.#K
_Rq#2|<z29^%OF1*H
SMF;+BLKJp+l2_cTf
BpzOUNyG)y7t-cYA2
N:^j*Xz6dpclddG+4
-RR+4>f|pz/JNbVM)
+l5||.UqL+Ut*5cZG
R)VE5FV52cW+|TB4-
|TC^D4ct+c+zJYM(+
y.LW+B.;+B31cOp+8
lXz6Ppb&RG1BCO7TB
zF*K<S<MF6N:(+HFK
29^4OFTBO<Sf9pl/y
Ucy5C^W(-+l#2E.B)
|DFHkNdpWk<S7ztZB
O_8YAO|BK*;-+C>cM

Here. If someone wants to fool around with it, are the inscription matrices and matching cleartext.

I have been re-casting the top half into different shapes. I wonder if he just inscribed the cleartext into the 17×20 grid, with the P19 pattern, then encoded, or did he use an original shape, then transcribe into the grid? The skip makes it seem like he may have used an original inscription shape. How could anyone bend their pattern like that and not realize it?

001 010 019 028 037 046 055 064 073 082 091 100 109 118 127 136 145
137 146 002 011 020 029 038 047 056 065 074 083 092 101 110 119 128
120 129 138 147 003 012 021 030 039 048 057 066 075 084 093 102 111
103 112 121 130 139 148 004 013 022 031 040 049 058 067 076 085 094
086 095 104 113 122 131 140 149 005 014 023 032 041 050 059 068 077
069 078 087 096 105 114 123 132 141 150 006 015 024 033 042 051 060
052 061 070 079 088 097 106 115 124 133 142 151 007 016 025 034 043
035 044 053 062 071 080 089 098 107 116 125 134 143 152 008 017 026
018 027 036 045 054 063 072 081 090 099 108 117 126 135 144 153 009

154 163 172 181 190 199 208 217 226 235 244 301 302 303 304 305 306
285 293 155 164 173 182 191 200 209 218 227 236 245 253 261 269 277
270 278 286 294 156 165 174 183 192 201 210 219 228 237 246 254 262
255 263 271 279 287 295 157 166 175 184 193 202 211 220 229 238 247
239 248 256 264 272 280 288 296 158 167 176 185 194 203 212 221 230
222 231 240 257 265 273 281 289 297 159 168 177 186 195 204 213 249
205 214 223 232 241 250 258 266 274 282 290 298 160 169 178 187 196
188 197 206 215 224 233 242 251 259 267 275 283 291 299 161 170 179
171 180 189 198 207 216 225 234 243 252 260 268 276 284 292 300 162

310 309 308 307 311 312 313 314 316 315 318 317 319 320 321 322 325
324 323 327 326 335 334 333 332 331 330 329 328 336 337 338 339 340

I R O N C A O O I I E R G R T M I
E C H E T T A T N W N N I A A B W
E I T E O H S R T W T W G T A I S
D C C L O A P A O Y C A H H S A M
B N O H A L P L E V F I H S E I U
C P O O F A U S A L Y I F N M N T
T V H A U T T M S E R T O N U G E
T T M S B P T A H B E N A H U G N
L I O H E H R O M F E E I D D E A

S A A S O H O S H A C L I F E I S
S H O U V L R E N N E C E R O A A
M I E A O S E A K R E O N H S E F
A D N D I T N E E V F E E T T P O
A T F E O B K M E I N E O E L H H
I E R R A T E N Y R N O S R V S H
E E N Y A E A T A C O N B O U T M
O E R H G R D Y I H F A W E E W G
H H W W Y A W E I A D I R U T W C

E F I L W I L L E B N A E A S Y E
N O N I E C I D A R A P D E A T H

hello smokie.. long time no chat.hope all is good in your world.
cheers jon

hello smokie.. long time no chat.hope all is good in your world.
cheers jon

Thank you. Isn’t this awesome? I am doing alright. I am a non-productive hermit these days, but it is just a phase. It is good to hear from you.