The art of cryptography has afforded a degree of privacy in communications since ancient times. The elegance of the mathematics responsible for creating ciphers is rivaled only by the advances in logic that have come from cryptanalysts, who continually break the coded messages that they intercept. This drama between code-maker and code-breaker has resulted in some of the most compelling intellectual challenges of our time - some of them still unsolved.
For decades, shortwave radio listeners have been hearing stations that do nothing but read blocks of numbers or letters from the international phonetic alphabet (alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, etc.), often using a woman's voice, in a variety of languages and on many different frequencies. All available evidence indicates that these transmissions may be connected to espionage activities. These are the "numbers" stations, an enduring mystery on the shortwave bands.
The transmissions on the "numbers" stations have proven to be uncrackable, due to the method of encryption employed. The intention of the Numbers project is to provide an opportunity for interaction between audience and artist, by using a weak form of encryption. The encrypted transmissions of the Numbers project will be posted on the web at pre-determined times. Users will be invited to listen to the audio archives and write down the block of letters recited, and then crack the message.
To begin, please select "This Week's Message" from the menu above!
|
HOME 