Cicada 3301: The Mysterious Scavenger Hunt

Introduction

• Date of Origin: January 4, 2012
• Platform: 4chan’s /b/ board
• User: Anonymous, pseudonym 3301
• Objective: Challenge users to decipher messages hidden in an image.

The Beginning

• Image contained a readable string and a cipher.
• Users decoded the message to find links to more information.
• Use of steganography: OutGuess application helped extract hidden data.

Growth of the Community

• An online community formed to solve the puzzle.
• Mixed perceptions: some saw it as a joke, others as a recruitment tool.
• Rumors of connections to secret societies or intelligence agencies.

The First Puzzle

• Key Elements:
  • Dimensions of the original image lead to a website after certain calculations.
  • Website contained a countdown and a cicada image.
  • After countdown, coordinates for 14 locations in 5 countries were revealed.
• Participants found posters with QR codes leading to riddles.

The Final Stage

• Select group of early arrivals invited to a private puzzle stage.
• Message: "We want the best, not the followers".
• Many did not follow the warning against collaboration.

Conclusion of the First Puzzle

• After a month of silence, a message indicated the puzzle was over.
• Speculation about the purpose and nature of the organization behind these puzzles followed.
• Acknowledgement of the use of PGP signatures for authentication.

The Second Puzzle

• Date: A year after the first puzzle.
• Similar structure: message in an image led to books and further clues.
• Included runic alphabet, suggesting deeper cryptographic elements.
• Physical clues again led participants to locations around the world.
• The puzzle eventually stalled without a conclusion.

The Third Puzzle

• Date: Beginning of 2014.
• Involved a book titled Liber Primus written in runes.
• Full of philosophical content and puzzles.
• Only a fraction of the runic pages have been translated.

The Current Status

• Original questions about the purpose, creators, and final outcomes still unresolved.
• Insights from an email received supposedly by finalists pointed to privacy-focused ideologies.
• Mention of historical recruitment techniques used by corporations and governments (e.g., GCHQ, Google).

Alleged Accounts from Winners

• Various accounts from alleged winners about the post-puzzle experience.
• Formation of a collective for software development encouraging privacy.
• Participants reported loss of interest leading to diminished activity.

Conclusion

• Nox Populi's insights suggest Cicada could stem from the cypherpunk movement advocating for privacy.
• The possibility of a decentralized group of hobby-cryptographers.
• Last public statement in April 2017, a warning against disinformation.
• Ongoing mystery regarding future puzzles and the organization’s status.