Cicada 3301
An anonymous puzzle that hunted the world's best cryptographers — and disappeared.
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Executive Summary
Cicada 3301 is the name given to an anonymous organisation that ran three rounds of extraordinarily complex internet recruitment puzzles between 2012 and 2014, plus an unsolved 2017 Liber Primus publication. Each puzzle combined steganography, cryptography, classical literature, Mayan numerology, GPS coordinates, and physical clues posted in cities around the world. The group's identity, purpose, and current status remain unverified.
The Hidden Truth
What the headlines won't tell you
Every authoritative Cicada message has been PGP-signed by the same key (7A35090F). That signature has held across years, making the organisation itself verifiable even if its members are not.
Case Timeline
- 2012-01-04CORROBORATEDFirst puzzle posted to 4chan /x/The anonymous post contained a steganographically embedded cipher within an image, directing solvers to decrypt using a Caesar cipher to find a hidden URL.
- 2012-01CORROBORATEDGPS clues appear in five countriesPhysical posters containing QR codes and Cicada imagery were discovered in Warsaw, Paris, Seoul, Seattle, and other locations as part of the multi-stage puzzle.
- 2013-01-04CORROBORATEDSecond puzzle round opensThe puzzle began exactly one year after the first, posted again to 4chan with a PGP-signed image, maintaining the organization's cryptographic continuity.
- 2014-01-06CORROBORATEDThird puzzle round opensThis puzzle introduced the Liber Primus manuscript containing 58 pages of runic text, most of which remains unsolved as of 2024.
- 2017-04-30PRIMARY SOURCEFinal confirmed PGP-signed messageThe message, verified by the original 7A35090F PGP key, stated a book would be published but no further confirmed communications have appeared since.
Key People
Organizations
Evidence Library
- documentPGP key 7A35090F
The single PGP key used to sign every authoritative Cicada announcement. Verification possible against any released ciphertext.
- photographPhysical posters from January 2012
Photographed by community researchers across 14 cities; all carry the same QR-coded entry to the puzzle chain.
- documentpartial redactionLiber Primus pages 1-58
Public PDF of the Liber Primus runic text. Several pages have been partially decoded; most remain unsolved.
Evidence Gallery
Sources
Trace the trail yourself
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Named in “Cicada 3301”.
Named in “Cicada 3301”.
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