How a hacker’s story hid puzzles in plain sight

When I started the book, I noticed this weird writing style at the beginning of the first chapter. It looked like a secret code, but I also thought it might be a second language of the writers and more of a shout-out. When I started the second chapter, I noticed another code right above the heading, and I concluded that I was reading a hacker’s biography and finding weird letters; it’s definitely a cipher. During a CTF a few weeks back, I was working on a decoder challenge and found a French website called dcode.fr for deciphering codes. It’s now my go-to when CyberChef doesn’t do the trick.

I pasted the first code into the Cipher identifier , and it showed me what the most likely ciphers are, so I clicked into the ROT cipher and decoded the text, and bang, out comes the first answer: “What is the name of the system used by ham operators to make free phone calls ?” This excited me, as now this book has just become a challenge, or Kevin is trying to tell the reader something he didn’t want to say in plain text. Now I am cracking the codes before I read each chapter, since I need to remember something in each to solve the ciphers. Here is my write-up for Ghost in the Wires.

Tools Used

Cipher Identifier

ROT cipher

Part One

Chapter One: Rough Start

Cipher: yjcv ku vjg pcog qh vjg uauvgo wugf da jco qrgtcvqtu vq ocmg htgg rjqpg ecnnu ?

Cipher Type: ROT (Caesar)

Plaintext: what is the name of the system used by ham operators to make free phone calls ?

Answer: autopatch

Chapter Two: Just Visiting

Cipher: wbth lal voe htat oy voe wxbirtn vfzbqt wagye C poh aeovsn vojgav ?'

Cipher Type: ROT (CAESAR)

Plaintext: what was the name of the central office where i was almost caught ?

Answer: Sunset Gower

Chapter Three: Original Sin

Cipher: Nyrk grjjnfiu uzu Z xzmv kf jvklg re rttflek fe Kyv Rib ?

Cipher Type: ROT13

Plaintext: What password did I give to setup an account on The Ark ?

Answer: Jelly

Chapter Four: Escape Artist

Cipher: Flle ujw esc wexp mo xsp kjr hsm hiwwcm, "Wplpll stq lec qma e wzerg mzkk!" ?

Cypher Type: Vigenere

Plaintext: What was the name of the man who yelled, “Search his car for a logic bomb!” ?

Answer: Steve Cooley

Chapter Five: All Your Phone Lines Belong To Me

Cipher: Bmfy ytbs ini N mnij tzy ns zsynq ymj Ozajsnqj Htzwy qtxy ozwnxinhynts tajw rj ?

Cypher Type: Vigenere

Plaintext: What town did I hide out in until the Juvenile Court lost jurisdiction over me ?

Answer: Oroville

Chapter Six: Will Hack For Love

Cipher: Kyoo olxi rzr Niyovo Cohjpcx ojy dn T apopsy?

Cypher Type: Vigenere (key:OROVILLE)

Plaintext: what game did Sandra Lambert ask if I played ?

Answer: Hearts

Chapter Seven: Hitched In Haste

Cipher: Kvoh wg hvs boas ct hvs Doqwtwq Pszz sadzcmss kvc fsor hvs wbhsfboz asac opcih am voqywbu oqhwjwhwsq cjsf hvs voa forwc?

Cypher Type: ROT-13

Plaintext: What is the name of the Pacific Bell employee who read the internal memo about my hacking activities over the ham radio?

Answer: Bill Cook

Chapter Eight: Lex Luthor

Cipher: Iwh xwqv wpvpj fwr Vfvyj qks wf nzc ncgsoo esg psd gwc ntoqujvr ejs rypz nzfs?

Cypher Type: Vigenere(key: BILLCOOK)

Plaintext: How much money did Lenny owe me for losing the bet for cracking the door code

Answer: 150$

Chapter Nine: The Kevin Mitnick Discount Plan

Cipher: Hsle td esp epcx qzc dzqehlcp mfcypo zy esp nsta esle Yzglepw dpye xp?

Cypher Type: ROT-13

Plaintext: What is the term for software burned on the chip that Novatel sent me?

Answer: Firmware

Chapter Ten: Mystery Hacker

Cipher: Bprf cup esanqneu xmm gtknv amme U biiwy krxheu Iwqt Taied ?

Cypher Type: Vigenere(key: FIRMWARE)

Plaintext: What guy answered the phone when I first called Eric Heinz ?

Answer: Henry Spiegel