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Cicada 3301 are three sets of puzzles posted under the name "3301" online between 2012 and 2014.

The first puzzle started on January 4, 2012, on 4chan, and ran for nearly a month. A second round began on January 4, 2013, and a third round was posted on Twitter on January 4, 2014. The stated intent was to recruit "intelligent individuals" by presenting a series of puzzles to be solved; no new puzzles were published on January 4, 2015. A new clue was posted on Twitter on January 5, 2016. Cicada 3301 posted their last verified OpenPGP-signed message in April 2017, denying the validity of any unsigned puzzle. The puzzles focused heavily on data security, cryptography, steganography, and Internet anonymity. It has been called "the most elaborate and mysterious puzzle of the Internet age", and is listed as one of the "top 5 eeriest, unsolved mysteries of the Internet" by The Washington Post, and much speculation exists as to its function. Many have speculated that the puzzles are a recruitment tool for the NSA, CIA, MI6, Mossad, a "Masonic conspiracy", or a cyber mercenary group. Others have stated Cicada 3301 is an alternate reality game, although no company or individual has attempted to monetize it.

Theories have included claims that Cicada 3301 is a secret society with the goal of improving cryptography, privacy, and anonymity or that it is a cult or religion. According to statements of several people who solved the 2012 puzzle, 3301 typically uses non-puzzle-based recruiting methods, but created the Cicada puzzles because they were looking for potential members with cryptography and computer security skills.

According to him, those who solved the puzzles were asked questions about their support of information freedom, online privacy and freedom, and rejection of censorship. Its description reads: "A series by one of the 2013 winners of the Cicada 3301 puzzle, showing the step by step solving process as well as discussing a more realistic, fact based view of the organization." Currently, she facilitates community efforts surrounding Cicada 3301 on a Discord server.

The Cicada 3301 puzzles used both online and physical clues, including digital images containing hidden information, a telephone message, websites, and paper signs bearing QR codes.

In 2012, the Investigative Police (PDI) in the Los Andes Province of Chile claimed that Cicada 3301 is a "hacker group" and engaged in illegal activities. Cicada 3301 responded by issuing a PGP-signed statement denying any involvement in illegal activity. In July 2015, a group calling themselves "3301" hacked into Planned Parenthood's database; however, the group appeared to have had no association with Cicada 3301. Cicada 3301 issued a PGP-signed statement saying that they "are not associated with this group in any way, nor do condone their use of our name, number, or symbolism". The hacker group later confirmed that they were not affiliated with Cicada 3301.

The United States Navy released a cryptographic challenge based on the Cicada 3301 recruitment puzzles in 2014, calling it Project Architeuthis. The plot of "Nautilus", a 2014 episode of Person of Interest, featured a large-scale game very similar to the Cicada 3301 puzzles. Both feature a series of worldwide cryptographic puzzles; as the title implies, these feature the image of a nautilus shell instead of a cicada logo. Person of Interest creator Jonathan Nolan and producer Greg Plageman said in an interview that Cicada 3301 was the inspiration for the episode: "I'm particularly fascinated by the subject underneath . The organization is the subject of the 2021 comedy-thriller film Dark Web: Cicada 3301. Directed by Alan Ritchson, who co-wrote the script with Joshua Montcalm, it stars Jack Kesy, Conor Leslie, Ron Funches, Kris Holden-Ried, Andreas Apergis, and director Ritchson. The film follows a hacker who participates in Cicada's recruitment game while evading the National Security Agency (NSA).

Quick Facts

• Cicada 3301 posted their last verified OpenPGP-signed message in April 2017, denying the validity of any unsigned puzzle.
• In July 2015, a group calling themselves "3301" hacked into Planned Parenthood's database; however, the group appeared to have had no association with Cicada 3301.
• The United States Navy released a cryptographic challenge based on the Cicada 3301 recruitment puzzles in 2014, calling it Project Architeuthis.
• The stated intent was to recruit "intelligent individuals" by presenting a series of puzzles to be solved; no new puzzles were published on January 4, 2015.
• Others have stated Cicada 3301 is an alternate reality game, although no company or individual has attempted to monetize it.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Cicada 3301". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.