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Cellular Networking Perspectives

Quiz for September, 2001 (#22)

This month’s quiz is the 22nd in an amazingly challenging and historically interesting series of encryption and cryptography quizzes from Les Owens. If you just can't get it, don't panic! Just order a subscription to Cellular Networking Perspectives or our new Wireless Security Perspectives today (or both!). We take the mystery out of wireless and security standards and technology.

For more information on encryption, check out the Beginner 's Guide to Cryptography

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Cipher Text

IHRLQ RMKBWPQ IF XQVAWL, KUQRR JADWJBM VE EAZAZUWL, KUQRR CSVGJIBPQ PEYHIADA, OAP WUYDM SFG CAQ CYUEA AK UOQQ TB ZQMD LPOG EOPCQBQ AA WA MN BLSIFAHSQ OOAMBQJSKM GA OCJDMKK, ZCO, MNQ XQOJSLS GTEZ, HQQLZMF CQRFIZA FGZ DEAPRLFG OATZ OQ SNZQ.

Hints:

  1. Tucked away in this punctuated string of gibberish is a quotation on oppression. You may not need to be Captain Midnight to crack this code but you may need to work harder than Caesar to reveal the original message.
  2. The leading 19th century Black American spokesperson and abolitionist made these remarks in April 1886. These words were part of a speech delivered to an audience in Washington DC some 24 years after emancipation. To avoid being captured, the escaped slave behind this quote dropped his "Bailey" family name at age 21. F.A.W. Bailey devoted his life to abolishing slavery and fighting for Negro rights - advocating abolition through political activism.
  3. The ciphertext was created using a U.S. Confederate "cipher disk" - a simple device used during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The tried and true cipher disk is beefed up to create a polyalphabetic cipher using the key word manumission. This ilk of simple "scrambling" disks has endured for several centuries - despite being banausic and error-prone during transcription. Now go get your Ovaltine!

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Solution to Quiz #21

    1. Encrypted above is a veracious quotation from which we get a well-known proverb that means: a thing we already have is better than things we can only hope to get.
    2. The enciphered aphorism comes from a 1st century Delphic Greek whose greatest work is a collection of biographies of Greek and Roman legislators, orators, soldiers and statesmen. This Greek’s work supplied material for Shakespeare’s Roman plays, including Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra.
    3. The cipher text is produced using a popular encryption technique used during the first millennium. In this example, we use a mellifluous keyword that derives from the Greek and means pleasing to the ear. The advantage of this simple enciphering technique is that it is easy to memorize the whole cipher alphabet – once one memorizes the keyword. It is therefore much easier to use than a random cipher.

    Solution

 

February, 2001 Winners

  1. Jim Reeds, AT&T, Florham Park, NJ
  2. Dan Veeneman, Decode Systems, Brookeville, MD
  3. Chris LaMott, Nortel, Lebanon, TN
  4. Chris Mongeluzzi
  5. Frank Gagliardi, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
  6. Heather Malneritch, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
  7. Jane Barrett, Hors-Cadre, Montreal, Quebec
  8. Miro Kazakoff, Washington, DC
  9. Patricia de Nicola, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
  10. Brendan Boner, Logica Mobile, Dublin, Ireland
  11. David Ott, Qualcomm, San Diego, CA

October, 2000 Winners

  1. Andrew Noorigian, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
  2. Dan Veeneman, Decode Systems, Brookeville, MD
  3. Brendan Boner, Logica Mobile, Dublin, Ireland
  4. Jen Smith, WildHare, San Diego, CA
  5. David Ott, Qualcomm, San Diego, CA
  6. Jim Reeds, AT&T, Florham Park, NJ
  7. Lillian Hawkins, The Mental Edge, Lawrenceville, GA
  8. Udit Kumar Goyal, BayPackets Technologies, India
  9. Meetu Saharan, India

September, 2000 Winners

  1. Jim Reeds, AT&T, USA
  2. Dan Veeneman, Decode Systems, USA
  3. Andrew Noorigian, Georgetown University, USA

July, 2000 Winners

  1. Dan Veeneman, Decode Systems, USA

March, 2000 Winners

  1. Dr. Love, GUTV, USA
  2. Stephen Owens, Georgetown University, USA
  3. Andy Noorigian, Georgetown University, USA
  4. Andrew Hung, Georgetown University, USA
  5. Miguel Ossandon, Georgetown University, USA
  6. Dan Veeneman, DeCode Systems, USA

February, 2000 Winners

  1. Erick Anderson, ADC NewNet Inc., USA
  2. Avelino Martinez, BGH S.A., Argentina
  3. Stephen Perrella, Georgetown University, USA
  4. Colin Kronewitter, Georgetown University, USA
  5. Graham Brown, Georgetown University, USA
  6. Stephen Owens, Georgetown University, USA
  7. Ryan S. Vela, Georgetown University, USA
  8. Sean J. McGuinness, Georgetown University, USA
  9. Marissa McGann, Georgetown University, USA
  10. Andy Noorigian, Georgetown University, USA
  11. Dan Veeneman, Decode Systems, USA
  12. Jeff Bollinger, Georgetown University, USA
  13. Andrew Hung, Georgetown University, USA
  14. Miguel Ossandon, Georgetown University, USA
  15. Joel Sivertsen, Georgetown University, USA
  16. Arturo Preciado, Georgetown University, USA

January, 2000 Winners

  1. Dan Veeneman, Decode Systems, USA

September, 1999 Winners

  1. Dan Veeneman, Decode Systems, USA

July/August, 1999 Winners

  1. Dan Veeneman, Decode Systems, USA

June, 1999 Winners

  1. None

May, 1999 Winners

  1. Kolin Baetz, JSI Telecom, Canada

April, 1999 Winners

  1. Kolin Baetz, JSI Telecom, Canada
  2. Suresh Kosky, Pepper Hamilton, USA

March, 1999 Winners

  1. Neerav Dalal
  2. Charles Santhosam
  3. Nilesh Savkoor

February, 1999 Winners

  1. Ray Young, National Communication Systems, USA

January, 1999 Winners

  1. Brendan Boner, Logica Aldiscon, Eire
  2. David Ott, Qualcomm, USA
  3. Nick Zoda, CMG, USA
  4. Colin Baetz, JSI Telecom, Canada
  5. Erick Anderson, ADC NewNet, USA

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