Codes and ciphers are secret weapons in the hands of spies and criminals, adding an extra layer of intrigue to their illicit activities. From the mysterious skyjacker known as D.B. Cooper to Australia’s Somerton Man, codes have teased and taunted us for generations. This week, SPYSCAPE delves into some of the most infamous cases and codes in history and we meet two of the codebreakers caught up in the high-stakes drama.
Code of silence
Criminals have concocted cryptic codes to elude the long arm of the law from the bootlegging days of Prohibition to the notorious Zodiac killer case (which even inspired a Mark Ruffalo film). We'll take you on a thrilling journey through some of the most mind-boggling crimes from the strange saga of Henry Debosnys - part madman, part genius - into the FBI's vault of ice-cold cases, where ciphers just might unlock history's most audacious crimes.
Can you solve 15 of history’s toughest codes and ciphers? You’ll need patience, persistence, and a sharp eye to solve these challenging puzzles from the Rongorongo script found on Easter Island to the enigmatic symbols of the Phaistos Disc. We’ve also scoured the globe for a few ingenious modern-day challenges to keep you current.
At our flagship museum & experience in NYC you'll explore the real world of secrets, tackle spy challenges and get a detailed personal profile of your hidden powers from a former Head of Training at MI6.
Ireland’s Emily Anderson lived a life of mystery and melody as a top-secret Bletchley Park codebreaker and part-time musicologist. When Germany awarded Emily the Order of Merit in 1961 for translating Beethoven’s letters, she must have smiled at the irony. During WWII, Emily was breaking Nazi codes to bring down Berlin. Now, years later, the undercover spy was being invited into Germany’s inner sanctum.
You may know all about the CIA HQ’s coded Kryptos sculpture but what about the Kryptos Rolls-Royce? Designed as an homage to the clandestine world of cryptology, this bespoke collection of just 50 special-edition Wraiths comes with a built-in code-breaking game - all for just $450,000. And it's certainly not the only clandestine car with a portal to a hidden universe of intrigue.
In the bustling city of Atlanta, a woman is brutally murdered. The suspect? A cipher clerk working at a hostile foreign embassy in the US whose job is to keep tabs on coded messages. What's more, the clerk is an FBI double agent now on the run. It's up to FBI Agent Frank Figliuzzi to bring the suspect in before he's silenced by his own people, but Figliuzzi is a newbie still finding his feet and the clock is ticking.
Do you have what it takes to crack codes and uncover a hidden treasure? Geocaching is a global game of wits and strategy where you solve a puzzle (or sometimes use GPS or satellite imagery) to track down containers known as ‘geocaches’. We’ve got the low-down on five of the coolest espionage-themed caches on Earth along with top tips and some common cache ciphers for beginners.
