Mathematics
Kryptos 2021 Challenge 2
Challenge 2
Kryptos agents, we are in desperate need of your help! A large supply of Covid-19 vaccines have been taken hostage by the amoral gang known as ®an$omWar€4U$. They have taken control of an electronic lock on a large freezer which is storing thousands of these precious vaccines. Even worse, every hour that the $4 million dollar ransom is not paid, they will increase the temperature of the freezer. We have intercepted an encrypted message between the leader of ®an$omWar€4U$ and one of the gang members who is their techie. Most likely this message indicates how the freezer can be unlocked. An unencrypted phone call between these two made it clear that the method of encryption is the Vigenere cipher using a running key. They said that the key would be the start of their favorite “literary work”. Of course, we have no idea what book this might be, so reading this encrypted message seems close to impossible. Can you please help us read the message and unlock the freezer before thousands of doses of the vaccine are ruined?
Intercepted encrypted message:
BAAFJ EHZVB SURME RLZJB KQDAX UXYEX NXWHZ ZQBGK
VBGXV XLHMK XZXFQ PIFMT BUCWA XWZSS TPPDS SQOAE
AIOXV RISBQ SRWFO MFMGF DTVFO ARH
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