The FBI Attempt to Solve the Zodiac 340

[AK Wilks]

This started from the topic about the Don Harden rumor and whether or not the FBI solved the 408, and what was their effort like on the 340. it started a separate discussion so I am giving it its own thread here.

Below is the excerpt from the FBI files in regards to the 340 and Fairfield ciphers. When I first posted this I was more interested in possible anagram use in the 340, but since then glurk, doranchak and up2something convinced me that wide anagrams create thousands of possibilities and thus it is near impossible to determine any one "correct" solution using wide anagrams. I still have some interest in very tight anagrams like LASTB for BLAST (which happens in the Raw Graysmith proposed solution). But anyway you can see some of the FBI effort here.

OLD POST:

These are from the FBI Zodiac file, the FBI Crypto Unit attempt to decode the Zodiac 340 Code and the unconfirmed Zodiac 12/7/69 Fairfield Code.

You can see that they DID think some anagram use was possible if not probable and did try various anagram approaches.

I got this in 2009/2010 from the FBI website - now it appears it is gone! If anyone can find it let me know. IIRC there was not much more analysis than this, but there was a little bit more. I think doranchak might have it or it may be in the new material uncovered by Morf. But it was really not all that impressive. I don't think they made as much effort on this as we might have thought. I think the FBI now has done more.

[AK Wilks]

Glurk had an interesting take on this question of did the FBI engage in anagrams as we commonly use that term? I actually think he may be right.

Glurk:
This is something that I've wondered about for a good while now, but never really looked into. I think that the references to "anagramming" in the FBI files actually mean something else other than the traditional definition of anagramming. This is in reference to AK's post here:

viewtopic.php?f=81&t=2054&start=10

If you look at the first scan/image: http://i24.servimg.com/u/f24/14/94/97/81/fbi_zo10.jpg
Please notice the line that says "BACKWARDS P as O with DOTTED TRIANGLE as K, etc..."

And in the second scan/image here: http://i24.servimg.com/u/f24/14/94/97/81/fbi_co10.jpg
Notice the line "At 53 : took, look, book, cook shook, hook."

Now look at position 53 (if you start counting from 0) in the 340 cipher:

Position 53 Zodiac 340.jpg

I believe that the use of the word "anagramming" in this case does not mean randomly re-arranging the letters in words, but really refers to the FBI just trying words in different positions to see what fits. I've also looked at the other words, ""At 143, At 165, At 212" etc. and this seems much more like a misuse of the word "anagramming" in order to describe attempting to place possible words in position, which is, as Dave pointed out in a post, more properly known as "cribbing."

Take a look and see what you think.

AK Wilks: I think you may well be right Glurk. It seems more likely the FBI was trying different words in there, on the general idea/hypothesis/wild ass guess that the S99^ might be a consonant-vowel-same vowel again-consonant combination. So they are using the term "anagram" to mean word guesses with different combinations of letters, but not really thinking that Zodiac used anagrams himself in designing the cipher.

In the Raw Graysmith proposed solution, which I think may hold some merit in perhaps being a partially correct start of a first stage solution, that part S99^ decodes as SEE A (NAME). So like the FBI theory, it regards the first part as consonant-vowel-same vowel again.

[Quicktrader]

Not so bad their approach

Great find.

QT

[smithy]

"Word-plugging" as someone else says. Yes. I thought that's what it meant. Sorry - I hadn't even realised there was a problem with the terminology.
Oops!

[AK Wilks]

"Word-plugging" as someone else says. Yes. I thought that's what it meant. Sorry - I hadn't even realised there was a problem with the terminology.
Oops!

Well the "old" AK Wilks who was very interested in anagrams used this passage in the FBI report as proof that the FBI thought the Zodiac used anagrams. The "new" AK Wilks, having gone to the Glurk/Doranchak/Up2something School of Enlightenment no longer believes Zodiac engaged in wide anagrams. I saw the error of my ways when I was shown that the thousands of possibilities created by wide anagrams render any one correct solution impossible, thus making it very unlikely they were used by Z, and meaning even if they were, it would be impossible to arrive at one true solution. The new me still has some interest in very tight one or two edit decision anagrams, like LASTB for BLAST.

The common use of the word anagram is exactly what the old, bad AK Wilks thought was the same way the FBI was using it. Meaning different letter formations to create different words, like ATBSFEKIN forSTAB KNIFE.

But Glurk correctly points out that is not how they were really using the word, they were using it to mean trying different words, i.e., cribbing.

Quicktrader: Thanks. I think it is interesting to see what the FBI did, like searching for words and phrases like DEATH MACHINE, COLLECTING SLAVES, SHALL, WILL, KILL, KILLING (notice all the double "L" 's, as your study also showed?)etc., and ZODIAC in the first 20 characters and last 10. I assume the blacked out words are names, perhaps Stine's brother or widow, or someone else they thought Z might mention.

[AK Wilks]

Glurk found out what was at position 53(they tried LOOK, BOOK)

It might be interesting to see what is at positions 143(SHALL, WILL), 265(KILL, KILLS)212(SHALL, WILL).

[glurk]

Ask and you shall receive, AK. Actually on the first one the FBI made a mistake (and so did I, a bit). The positions are supposed to be 52, 143, 165, and 212.
And clearly they thought (they said so) that they considered BACKWARDS P as O, DOTTED TRIANGLE as K, and both NORMAL F and NORMAL B as L.
These are very clearly the positions they mean, OFC. I think they just typed 53 when they meant to type 52 in the report. The other 3 positions are correct as-is.

340fbi.jpg

-glurk

[AK Wilks]

Excellent! Thank you sir.

[AK Wilks]

At position 212 the FBI considered SHALL. The Raw Graysmith also has the filled in circle as an A and the B as an L. Graysmith incorrectly has the F as a P, creating an illogical APL. Considering how many words Z used that had the LL combination, as this FBI document notes (KILL, KILLING, COLLECT,THRILL, SHALL, WILL, etc.) it seems clear that the F should also be an L. And while the FBI considered the 9 as a vowel O, Graysmith had it as another vowel E. Creating the 4th line SEEANAME. Graysmith also has the frequent + as an L, which creates many LL combinations which we know Z used a lot.

I am in the minority thinking there is any value in the Raw Graysmith but I found these items interesting. For those who think the FBI ideas may have some merit and the Graysmith is worthless, well, they agree on the filled in circle and the B being A and L!

I also find it interesting the words the FBI used some obvious some not so obvious. I think the blacked out words are likely peoples names.

[Jarlve]

Hey AK Wilks,

Is there more on the assumptions, "written columnarly, first line forward and second line backward etc" as it says?

These are all things I tried with the ZKDecrypto when I started with the cipher but I would still like to know the reasoning.

Thanks