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The full episode, in writing.
On January 4, 2012, a message appeared on the anonymous imageboard 4chan. The post invited “intelligent individuals” to solve a complex puzzle. The signature at the bottom read: Cicada 3301. That single message launched what The Washington Post later called “one of the top 5 eeriest, unsolved mysteries of the Internet.” It triggered a global hunt that would eventually span three years, three confirmed rounds of puzzles, and an enduring reputation as the Internet’s most elaborate mystery.
Cicada 3301 released three major sets of puzzles between 2012 and 2014. Each sequence began on January 4 of its respective year. The puzzles incorporated elements of cryptography, steganography, internet anonymity, and data security. The initial puzzle ran for nearly a month before the solution was found. The second round launched on January 4, 2013, and the third began after a new clue was posted to Twitter on January 4, 2014.
The third puzzle, started in 2014, remains unsolved as of the latest reports. Unlike previous years, there were no new puzzles published on January 4, 2015. However, a new clue did appear on Twitter on January 5, 2016, suggesting the group had not entirely vanished at that point.
All authentic Cicada 3301 clues were signed with the same OpenPGP private key. This cryptographic signature was used so solvers could verify the messages were genuine and not the work of imitators or pranksters. Cicada 3301 posted their last verified OpenPGP-signed message in April 2017. In that statement, they denied the validity of any unsigned puzzles and distanced themselves from groups misusing their symbol or name.
Cicada’s puzzles transcended the digital realm. Clues appeared through a wide array of mediums: internet posts, telephone calls, digital images, original music, bootable Linux CDs, and even physical paper signs posted in cities around the globe. Pages of an unpublished book, written in runes and titled Liber Primus—Latin for “First Book”—were also part of the game. Only some of Liber Primus has been decrypted.
The puzzles referenced various works of literature, poetry, artwork, and music. Two pieces of music, “The Instar Emergence” and “Interconnectedness,” were released as part of the Cicada clues. Neither piece is part of any standard musical repertoire, and to this day, the composers and performers remain unknown.
The stated purpose of these puzzles was to recruit “highly intelligent individuals.” Several people who managed to complete the 2012 puzzle reported being contacted by Cicada 3301 and asked a series of philosophical and ethical questions. According to Marcus Wanner, the winner of the 2013 puzzle, successful solvers were quizzed about their support for information freedom, online privacy, and the rejection of censorship. Those who gave satisfactory responses were invited to a private forum and tasked with developing a project in line with the group’s ideals.
Wanner was assigned to work on a method of general decryption, but he did not complete his project. The associated website was taken down, and no further updates were given. Another 2013 winner, using the online name Nox Populi, shared her experience through a YouTube series documenting both the step-by-step solving of the puzzle and her views on the organization. Nox Populi now helps facilitate community efforts around Cicada 3301 on a Discord server.
Communities of puzzle solvers still exist, scattered across internet message boards and forums. These groups continue to pore over the unsolved portions of Liber Primus and analyze the cryptographic challenges left behind.
The nature and origin of Cicada 3301 have been the subject of intense speculation. Theories range from claims that it is a recruitment tool for intelligence agencies such as the NSA, CIA, MI6, or Mossad, to suggestions that it is a Masonic conspiracy or the work of cyber mercenaries. Others have proposed that Cicada 3301 is an alternate reality game, although no company or individual has attempted to monetize the puzzles.
Some commentators believe Cicada 3301 is a secret society focused on improving cryptography, privacy, and internet anonymity. There are also claims that the group is a cult or even a new form of religion, though there is no consensus.
In 2012, police in the Los Andes Province of Chile described Cicada 3301 as a hacker group and accused it of illegal activities. Cicada 3301 responded with a PGP-signed message denying any involvement in criminal behavior. In July 2015, another group calling themselves “3301” hacked into the database of Planned Parenthood. Cicada 3301 issued a public statement, also PGP-signed, denying any connection to the attack or the group involved, and condemning the use of their name and symbolism by the hackers. The group responsible for the hack later confirmed they were not affiliated with Cicada 3301.
The reach of Cicada 3301 extended into official circles. In 2014, the United States Navy launched a cryptographic challenge known as Project Architeuthis. This effort was based directly on the methods used in the Cicada 3301 recruitment puzzles. Project Architeuthis was designed to attract and recruit new Navy cryptologists through social media platforms like Facebook.
Cicada 3301’s influence has also made its way into popular culture. The plot of a 2014 episode of the television series Person of Interest, titled “Nautilus,” revolves around a large-scale cryptographic game reminiscent of the Cicada puzzles. The show’s creator, Jonathan Nolan, and producer Greg Plageman, confirmed in interviews that Cicada 3301 inspired the episode. The fictional game featured a nautilus shell logo instead of a cicada.
In 2021, Cicada 3301 was the subject of the comedy-thriller film Dark Web: Cicada 3301. The film was directed by Alan Ritchson, who co-wrote the script with Joshua Montcalm. The cast included Jack Kesy, Conor Leslie, Ron Funches, Kris Holden-Ried, Andreas Apergis, and Alan Ritchson himself. The movie followed a hacker drawn into Cicada’s recruitment game while being pursued by the National Security Agency.
Cicada 3301’s puzzles are integral to the plot of the visual novel Anonymous;Code, although the connection is referenced rather than detailed.
A unique feature of the Cicada 3301 saga is the existence of the book Liber Primus. Written in runes, much of this book remains undeciphered. Liber Primus has become a central focus for ongoing communities, as solvers attempt to break its codes and uncover its meaning.
The first message that kicked off the Cicada phenomenon in 2012 appeared on 4chan’s /b/ board, a notorious section of the site famous for its anonymity and chaotic content.
By 2017, Cicada 3301 had issued their last verified statement. Since then, ongoing puzzles or clues lacking the OpenPGP signature are generally dismissed by the solver community as inauthentic.
Cicada 3301’s puzzles demanded knowledge of obscure poems like Agrippa (A Book of the Dead) and Mabinogion, and even references to The Book of the Law. Each referenced work served as a puzzle piece, requiring solvers to be well-read in literature, mathematics, cryptography, and the arts.
The international scope of the puzzles was demonstrated through the physical placement of paper signs in cities scattered across the globe in 2012. These signs included QR codes, runes, and cryptic instructions, leading solvers on real-world scavenger hunts that connected the digital and physical worlds.
The OpenPGP key used by Cicada 3301 is still tracked by online communities as the definitive marker of an authentic Cicada communication.
The puzzles featured not only technical challenges but also philosophical and ethical questions posed to successful solvers, emphasizing ideals such as freedom of information and resistance to censorship.
Cicada 3301 has never been monetized by any company or individual, separating it from most alternate reality games and viral internet puzzles that seek publicity or profit.
The group’s decision to verify every clue and statement with a cryptographic signature set a new standard for authenticity within online puzzle communities.
Cicada 3301 continues to be listed in international media as one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the internet age, with The Washington Post naming it among the “top 5 eeriest, unsolved mysteries of the Internet.”