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CASE #OH3EHY · 2 entities · 1 connections
Kryptos
A copper sculpture at CIA headquarters has kept codebreakers stumped for over 30 years — and the solution might get auctioned off.
Kryptos is an encrypted copper sculpture installed at CIA headquarters in 1990, created by artist Jim Sanborn. Three of its four coded passages have been solved; the fourth remains unbroken more than three decades later.
⇄disputed
Quick facts
- →Sanborn worked with a former CIA cryptographic expert, Edward Scheidt, to design the codes.
- →The third passage's solution contains an intentional misspelling — "iqlusion" instead of "illusion" — that stumped early codebreakers.
- →In 2010 and 2014, Sanborn released partial hints to speed up the fourth section's solution. It still hasn't been solved.
- →As of late 2025, Sanborn has discussed auctioning off the sculpture's full solution, wanting the answer preserved before he dies.
Entities on file
Kryptos (artwork)
Encrypted copper sculpture at CIA headquarters; three of four coded passages have been solved.
No outgoing connections on file.
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Jim Sanborn (person)
Artist who designed and built Kryptos.
→ created → Kryptos✓documented