Challenge 8B

[AB1]

Harry, is it possible to get some clues about the types of cipher used in challenge 8B?

[Not this soon it isn’t! (Though there is one very obscure clue already given in the chapter title!) Good luck, Harry

[f6exb_the_frenchy]

@AB1
It can be solved with Word or Excel for replacements.
After that you can use what you know already from the first challenges.

[brickyboy]

I am struggling with what cipher 8B is. I’m pretty sure its a Polybius square type thing, but there’s a few variations. I have tried Playfair (somewhat) and have found nihilist (but not tried it yet). Basically, I’m wondering if I have gone way down the wrong path, or just need to keep trying. I know I probably wont get much (if any) help this early on, and that most of this will probably be blacked out, but I wanted to try.

[Ooooh, lots of clues here, but I am feeling generous! Harry]

[Ainz]

what do you mean by “replacements”

[f6exb_the_frenchy]

@Ainz
I mean: replace a group of … numbers by one letter.

[Feefen]

Thanks @f6exb_the_frenchy, this helped! I knew what cipher it was but was unsure as to how to start solving it. Now I’ve deciphered it!

[Luke_Garner]

@brickyboy

You’re on the correct sort of page with a polybius cipher, however there’s an extra step following that for you to work out 🙂

[The_Code_Less_Traveled]

A few more clues (if Harry will allow):

The person who first cracked this cipher was good friends of Jane Austin. In fact, his wedding was recorded in her novel Mansfield Park. This definitely doesn’t have anything to do with ciphers ;), but: Even though the book isn’t a French love story, it still is a great read.

Once you know the type of cipher, the rest is just like before… [Thank you, Harry].

[sdv_x]

Not sure if Harry will let this through, but

5 numbers are used. 5^2 = 25 – almost the same amount of letters in the English alphabet

divide text into pairs of numbers

use frequency analysis to associate each letter with each pair of numbers

Good luck!

[Author]

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