Puzzles, Fun, and Games

ShmooCon 2017 Badge (and more) Contest - Solutions

Jan 20, 2017 - 8500 Words -

Shall We Play A Game? It’s been a long time since I did a big puzzle solution post, and even longer since I played a crypto contest at ShmooCon. That’s about to change. :) After winning three years in a row, and running the ShmooCon contest for four years after that, I finally stepped away from the fray in 2016. But I did help out a little, commenting on the puzzles they were putting together and generally offering advice.

Poem Codes - WWII Crypto Techniques

Mar 27, 2016 - 2700 Words -

Introduction A few years back, after I won my first crypto contest, the contest author, G. Mark Hardy, suggested I read Between Silk and Cyanide. Written by Leo Marks, it’s a first-person account of the difficulties managing cryptographic communications with field agents in Europe during World War II. Much of the story centered on the “poem codes” used by the agents, but the technical details were kind of obscure and not clearly explained.

BSidesLV 2014 Badge Contest

Aug 10, 2014 - 4400 Words -

BSidesLV 2014 Badge I was in Las Vegas for another Security Summer Camp, and for the past 5 years a major part of that has been Security BSides, or BSidesLV. I checked in and only barely got a badge, as they had just run out (but while I was standing there looking sad, someone stepped up with an extra…crisis averted!) It didn’t take long for me to notice a faint QR code on the back of the badge, but I didn’t bother to read where it led at this point.