The Kryptos Cipher Cracked: A Decades-Long Mystery Unraveled – And the Controversy That Followed
For 35 years, the Kryptos sculpture at CIA headquarters stood as a monument to unsolved mystery. Created by artist Jim Sanborn, the four-part cipher has challenged the world’s best codebreakers – from the CIA and NSA to dedicated amateur sleuths. But in a stunning turn of events, the final, elusive plaintext wasn’t cracked through ingenuity, but through an accidental archival slip-up. This is the story of how Kryptos’s secret was revealed, and the ensuing battle over its legacy.
The accidental Revelation
The story begins with Eliot Kobek, a California novelist known for his skepticism of the digital world (his book I Hate the Internet speaks to this). Kobek, fascinated by Kryptos, learned that materials related to the sculpture resided within the Smithsonian’s archives of American Art in Washington, D.C.
he enlisted the help of Byrne, a playwright and journalist, to photograph these archival holdings. To their astonishment, two images contained a 97-character passage - a direct transcription of the unencrypted text Sanborn had previously used as clues, but never fully revealed. Suddenly, the decades-long quest was over, not through brilliant deduction, but through a blessed (for the solvers, at least) revelation.
This revelation was particularly jarring for Sanborn. He had inadvertently submitted the plaintext to the museum, effectively taking the challenge out of his own hands. His vision for Kryptos – a piece of art exploring the very nature of secrecy – was now threatened. and, crucially, the planned auction of Kryptos itself was thrown into jeopardy.
A Complex Web of Interests
Sanborn’s initial reaction was to contain the leak. he contacted RR Auction, the house handling the sculpture’s sale, and asked Kobek and Byrne to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). The auction house also suggested a financial arrangement: a share of the proceeds in exchange for their silence.
Kobek and Byrne were understandably hesitant. They didn’t want to disrupt the auction, but weren’t comfortable being financially incentivized to keep a secret. (RR Auction executive vice president Bobby Livingston declined to comment on the specifics of the legal discussions, but acknowledged that NDAs offer “comfort” to clients.)
Sanborn then requested the Smithsonian freeze access to the archives, a request they honored. He appealed to Kobek and Byrne to remain silent, believing they would be hailed as heroes. However, the situation quickly escalated.
The Media and the Public Reveal
The turning point came with a call from journalist John Schwartz of The New York Times.Kobek and Byrne,facing mounting legal threats from the auction house’s lawyers,contacted Schwartz hoping to mitigate the risk.
“There was threat after threat being sent to us from the auction house’s lawyers, threatening to sue us for a multitude of things,” Kobek explained.
On October 16th, Schwartz published his story, revealing the plaintext to the world.You can read the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/science/kryptos-cia-solution-sanborn-auction.html.
Kobek reportedly shared the plaintext with Schwartz over the phone, though he now cites ”significant legal peril” as the reason he cannot discuss the details. Schwartz, for his part, states he deleted the text from his interview files once his editors decided not to include it in the published article.
What Does This Mean for Kryptos and its Creator?
The unveiling of the plaintext has sparked a debate about the future of Kryptos. Sanborn’s artistic intent – to create a lasting exploration of secrecy – has been complicated by the manner of its resolution.
Here’s a breakdown of the key implications:
* The Auction’s Fate: The revelation undoubtedly impacted the auction value of the sculpture. The mystique, a significant part of its appeal, has been diminished.
* Sanborn’s Vision: The artist’s carefully constructed narrative around secrecy and discovery has been disrupted. He now faces the challenge of redefining Kryptos in light of its accidental unveiling
