Crypto firm buys solution to CIA sculpture Kryptos, launches online challenge

The California-based investment firm Paradigm has purchased the solution to Kryptos, a sculpture installed in 1990 at CIA headquarters in Virginia, for nearly $1 million at auction last November. The sculpture, created by artist Jim Sanborn, contains five encrypted messages; the first three have been solved, but the fourth (K4) has remained unsolved for 35 years. Paradigm had Sanborn write the solution on a computer, then encrypted it into a unique hash stored on a cloud, deleting the original. Starting June 12, anyone can submit guesses via a dedicated website for $1 per attempt, with each guess also hashed and compared to the stored hash. Paradigm partner Dan Robinson stated the company does not know the solution to preserve the mystery. Sanborn had auctioned the solution due to exhaustion from constant harassment by enthusiasts. Two journalists, Jarett Kobek and Richard Byrne, previously discovered the solution among Sanborn's papers donated to the Smithsonian Institution but pledged not to reveal it. Once K4 is solved, a fifth message (K5) will remain. Paradigm plans to release the K5 solution in the future and has also launched a competition with ten additional puzzles, offering $1,000 each; seven were solved in the first two days.