The Internet Mystery That Nobody Can Explain | Lemmino - Cicada 3301 Reaction

[00:00:01][screaming] [music] [music] >> The time has finally come. We have been asked many many many times >> know what we're watching.

[00:00:21]>> to react to this video. It is Cicada by Lemmino and >> We've reacted to that name before.

[00:00:31]>> I think there was one video that we reacted to from this channel a long time ago. But this one has been requested to us more than any other.

[00:00:41]Um I mean it's got 40 million views and it is 7 years old. So it came out not long uh or before we started doing reactions and it was one of the first. And it's been recommended many many times over since.

[00:00:56]>> I don't have anything to go off of. I don't like cicadas.

[00:01:02]>> I don't think this really has anything to do with them.

[00:01:05]>> Right. That's all I know.

[00:01:07]>> it don't. But all I know is it's time to finally watch the video.

[00:01:13]>> So are you ready to check this out?

[00:01:15]>> I wish I could guess it but yes.

[00:01:18]>> Here we go.

[00:01:20]>> Just let me know.

[00:01:24]>> [music] >> On the 4th of January 2012, a user on 4chan posted [music] this image to the site's infamous B or random board. The anonymous author who went by the four-digit pseudonym 3301 challenged users to uncover [music] a message hidden within the image.

[00:01:43]Unbeknownst to those [music] who stumbled across it, someone had just set in motion one of the most elaborate scavenger hunts the internet has ever seen.

[00:01:51]>> Oh, I solved it. It's the Shia LaBeouf thing.

[00:01:53]>> Oh my god.

[00:01:55]>> I [music] mean >> No.

[00:01:57]>> Elaborate scavenger hunt.

[00:01:59]>> of the image being posted, [music] someone discovered that by opening the file using a text editor, an appended string of readable text could be found.

[00:02:07]The string contained a cipher that once deciphered formed a link to yet another image. At first, this appeared to be a dead end, but using an application known as OutGuess, users were able to extract hidden information embedded within the first image. The extracted information led to a subreddit, which in turn contained information about the book.

[00:02:27]The book, along with a code, could then be used to uncover a phone number that when called >> I got it.

[00:02:33]>> People have too much damn time. That's all that I was going to say.

[00:02:37]>> People do have too much damn time.

[00:02:39]>> That's crazy.

[00:02:40]>> pre-recorded message.

[00:02:43]>> Very good.

[00:02:44]You have done well.

[00:02:46]There are three prime numbers associated with the original final.jpeg image. 3301 is one of them.

[00:02:54]You will have to find the other two.

[00:02:57]Multiply all three of these numbers together and add a.com on the end to find the next step.

[00:03:03]Good luck.

[00:03:04]Goodbye.

[00:03:09]>> Okay.

[00:03:10]>> By the following day, the initial image had been reposted all over the internet.

[00:03:16]>> [music] >> A growing community of armchair detectives sought to unravel this elaborate puzzle, but no one was quite sure what to make of it. What was the puzzle for? Who was behind it? What happens when you reach the end? Some naturally dismissed it as an elaborate joke, while others perceived its complexity as evidence against it being the work of a mere troll. Before long, rumors began to circulate that this could be the work of some secret society or intelligence agency with intent of recruiting individuals proficient in cryptography, steganography, and other related fields.

[00:03:57]>> [music] >> Of course, it was nothing but a rumor.

[00:04:02]The two missing numbers mentioned in the recording proved to be the dimensions of the original image. After multiplying the width and height with 3301 and using the product as a web address, users were taken to a website. The website consisted of a countdown as well as an image of a cicada. When the countdown reached zero, the page was updated with a list of coordinates. [music] The coordinates pointed to locations around the globe, 14 locations in five different countries. It was now up to participants living near the specified coordinates to rise from their comfortable armchairs and venture outside.

[00:04:38]Those who believed Cicada to be the work of an organization now felt their beliefs had been justified. [music] In their opinion, only some international collective possessed the means and resources to create a scavenger hunt of this magnitude. This was not the work of your average troll. No, this had to be something else. At each location was a poster with a cicada symbol and a QR code.

[00:05:02]>> I'm in that bike shelter over here.

[00:05:04]So, you got a got it right there.

[00:05:07]You can see the corners I I just said I was going to rip it off.

[00:05:10]>> Wow.

[00:05:11]>> The codes linked to an image. The image contained a riddle. The riddle led to a book, [music] and the book led to >> I'm a little distracted.

[00:05:22]>> Oh.

[00:05:24]The Yeah.

[00:05:31]There he is.

[00:05:33]The stank bug.

[00:05:37]So, what's your plan now, Nikki?

[00:05:38]>> know. I'm just going [laughter] to put him somewhere else. For a moment.

[00:05:43]Hang out over here, friend.

[00:05:44]>> What if he would have flown up your nose?

[00:05:46]>> Uh >> What a bug to have flown up your nose?

[00:05:48]The stink bug?

[00:05:51]>> You're making me Don Vito over here.

[00:05:55]>> [laughter] >> Where's the mouse?

[00:05:58]>> Yeah, just stop. You're doing too much.

[00:06:00]>> [laughter] >> Riddle, the riddle led to a book [music] and the book led to a website. But here the puzzle took an unexpected turn. Only a select group of first arrivals to this website [music] were accepted into the final stage of the puzzle. The site eventually closed down with a message, "We want [music] the best, not the followers." The finalists were also warned not to collaborate with others nor to share the details of this [music] private stage of the puzzle. Well, given that we know this, it's safe to say that not everyone heeded that warning.

[00:06:36]>> But those who did presumably advanced through the final stages before reaching the very end of the puzzle.

[00:06:44]>> [music] >> After nearly a month of silence, an image appeared on the subreddit announcing the conclusion of the puzzle and just like that, the hunt was over.

[00:06:58]>> Oh.

[00:06:59]>> Cicada had supposedly found the highly intelligent individuals they were looking for and whatever happened to them is a bit of a mystery, but more on that in a moment.

[00:07:09]>> Mhm.

[00:07:09]>> The complete lack of an explanation was perceived by many as confirmation that the puzzle had been nothing but a wild goose chase intent on wasting everyone's time.

[00:07:18]>> No, I don't think so.

[00:07:20]>> All questions raised by the original image remained unanswered. What [music] was the puzzle for? Who was behind it?

[00:07:27]What happens when you reach the end?

[00:07:31]However, as it later turned out, this was only the beginning.

[00:07:39]>> [music] >> Whoever it was this intricate game had the foresight to include an authentication code known as a PGP signature along with every clue.

[00:07:51]This allowed users to verify that an image or message was actually from Cicada as opposed to some impostor seeking to derail or hijack the puzzle.

[00:08:00]Cicada had repeatedly warned of such false paths and insisted that any message lacking a valid PGP signature should promptly be disregarded.

[00:08:10]That's why this image posted exactly a year and a day after the first provoked such a frenzy. After a year of lackluster imitations, this image finally matched the official PGP signature. Cicada was back and it was time for round two.

[00:08:29]The second puzzle was not too dissimilar from the first. The image enclosed a message, the message led to a book, the book produced a link, and gradually the puzzle unfolded. At one point a recording titled The Instar Emergence was uncovered.

[00:08:45]>> [music] [music] [music] >> Another clue led to a cryptic Twitter account [music] which then led to an image. The image proved vital to the progression of the [music] puzzle, but the inclusion of this runic alphabet would remain a mystery for quite some time. Much like the first puzzle, the second swelled into the physical world when a list of coordinates compelled [music] participants to once again take to the streets in search of enigmatic posters. [music] This time it was eight locations in four different countries.

[00:09:32]But eventually the trail went cold once again. Another select group of first arrivals have been accepted into a final [music] private stage of the puzzle.

[00:09:43]Unlike the first puzzle, the second did not conclude with an official message [music] from Cicada. The trail merely went cold and Cicada vanished once more, leaving us no closer to an explanation.

[00:09:56]However, this was still not the end.

[00:09:59]>> [music] >> Okay.

[00:10:05]>> At the beginning of 2014, it was time for [music] round three. Once again, the image enclosed a message. The message led to a book. The book produced a link.

[00:10:15]And suffice it to say, it was more of the same. [music] Except this time, the puzzle seemed to revolve around a strange book. The book was titled Liber Primus, meaning first book in Latin, and was evidently written by Cicada. The runic alphabet uncovered in 2013 finally made sense as the book was primarily written in runes.

[00:10:39]Even so, the meaning of the translated pages were cryptic at best. The book consisted of various philosophical and ideological ideas and appeared to be their manifesto. Many have since compared the strange writings to that of a cult. Nevertheless, the book also comprised a myriad of clues and codes.

[00:10:59]For example, this page advised participants to seek out a website on the deep web, but the site remains undiscovered. Another page led to a website containing yet another recording titled Interconnectedness.

[00:11:14]>> Cicada.

[00:11:18]>> [music] [music] >> I just are playing like some kind of off-brand Korean cell phones [music] ring music or something just to like mess with everybody.

[00:11:38]>> a significant portion of the book has [music] yet to be translated. The runic text on some of the pages appear to be obfuscated by layers of encryption that [music] has yet to be decrypted. Of the 74 pages featuring runes, only 19 have been successfully translated.

[00:11:57]>> [music] >> As 2015 came and went without the launch of a new puzzle, many came to suspect the Liber Primus had to be completed [music] if Cicada was to return. This was more or less confirmed at the beginning of 2016 [music] when Cicada encouraged a re-examination of the book.

[00:12:16]More than four years have now gone by with minimal progress and near complete silence from Cicada.

[00:12:22]Questions raised by [music] the original image have gone ignored. What is the purpose of these puzzles? Who's behind them? What happens when you reach the end?

[00:12:39]>> [music] >> When the initial image appeared on 4chan back in 2012, many assumed Cicada 3301 to be an alternate reality game designed by a corporation to promote a new service or product. For example, Microsoft developed an elaborate ARG back in 2001 to promote the film Artificial Intelligence and a similar viral marketing campaign was used to promote the release of Halo 2.

[00:13:07]But the release of subsequent puzzles and the complete lack of commercialization has more or less eliminated that possibility. If we choose to believe some of the leaked information from the private end stage of each puzzle, then we do gain some insight into who this group might be.

[00:13:24]For example, at the end of the first puzzle, finalists supposedly received this email. In it, Cicada described themselves as an international group who believed that privacy is an inalienable right. The aim of each puzzle is to recruit like-minded individuals in an effort to develop privacy-conscious solutions. The email then concludes with three questions. The PGP signature, which would have confirmed the authenticity of the email, was conveniently removed by the leaker. If a version with a valid signature does exist online, I wasn't able to find it.

[00:13:59]But, regardless of its legitimacy, I find this question a bit odd. It reads, "Do you believe that information should be free?" Assuming the expected answer is yes, then the very first sentence, "Do not share this information," seems a bit hypocritical.

[00:14:17]While the idea of a secret society recruiting individuals by means of elaborate cryptographic puzzles may seem a bit absurd or even conspiratorial, it's not entirely unfounded.

[00:14:28]Corporations and governments alike have employed similar recruitment techniques since at least the Second World War. In 2013, the British intelligence agency GCHQ launched a recruitment program known as Can You Find It. Participants had to decrypt a number of cryptograms hidden across the internet, and those who managed to solve the entire puzzle were offered a prize or a position at the agency. Google did something similar with enigmatic billboards back in 2004, and the US Navy launched a near-identical project in 2014.

[00:15:01]Okay, but then what about the recruits?

[00:15:04]Why have we not heard from these chosen few?

[00:15:07]Uh well, we have. It's just that separating a legitimate finalist from an impostor is virtually impossible. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, two alleged winners of the first puzzle chronicled the events beyond the final stage. After receiving an email from Cicada, they were taken to a forum on the dark web. Here they could communicate with 20-some-odd recruits as well as a handful of established members of Cicada. They were told that Cicada 3301 had been founded by a group of friends who shared common ideals about security, privacy, and censorship. The goal was to work as a collective to develop software applications in line with that ideology. As friends recruited friends, this secret society quickly expanded into a decentralized international organization. The recruits were then tasked with developing software that fit the ideology of the group, and members of Cicada would oversee their progress. But, without the allure of a puzzle to be solved, the recruits quickly lost interest. By the end of 2012, all but one had left, and a few months later, the site was gone.

[00:16:15]They never heard from Cicada again.

[00:16:21]One of the two winners, named Marcus [music] Wanner, later elaborated further in a video by YouTuber Nox Populi.

[00:16:28]Furthermore, Nox Populi himself claims to be a winner of the second puzzle, so I reached out to him, and this is some of what he had to say. [music] After completing the final stages of the second puzzle, Nox Populi received an invitation [music] to join Cicada 3301. However, he was not invited to a website, but was instead merely told to be patient. Then, around May of 2013, all communication with Cicada abruptly ceased. This was around the same time as when the website dedicated to the winners of the first puzzle was suddenly taken down. [music] Nox Populi later contacted other winners of the second puzzle to compare notes, and their experiences were identical. In his own words, "All the stories were the same. We were invited to join 3301, then something happened, and silence followed a request for patience.

[00:17:20]>> [music] >> Knox Populi supposed that roughly five others completed second puzzle in contrast to the 20 odd winners of the first. In regards to who or what Cicada is, Knox Populi believes they could be a remnant of the Cypherpunk movement of the late '80s and '90s. Essentially, a small group of activists advocating widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies, but he admits that there is no way to know for certain. [music] If you want to follow my comprehensive walk-through of these puzzles as opposed to my brief overview, Knox Populi has produced a number of videos on his channel which I highly recommend.

[00:17:58]While these accounts cannot be verified, they do make for a very compelling argument as to what Cicada is. A group of anonymous developers seeking to develop privacy-conscious applications by recruiting [music] talented individuals via cryptographic puzzles. Sure, it is not nearly as exciting as a shadow government seeking world domination or any of the more fantastical theories, but it is certainly more plausible. You have to keep in mind that no part of these puzzles would have required more than one person. The posters are often pointed to as evidence that this must be the work of some international organization, but I beg to differ. I mean, right [music] now, I could use any number of services to hire random persons around [music] the globe to install posters >> That is true.

[00:18:46]>> Although, given that no poster was located more than an hour away from an airport leads me to believe that one or multiple persons actually traveled to these locations. I mean, some of the posters were found within [music] walking distance of an international airport.

[00:19:01]The fact is that anyone with a disposable income and enough time on their hands would be able to create the illusion of a vast secret network spanning the globe.

[00:19:12]>> But why?

[00:19:13]>> saying that that is the case with Cicada 3301, but it is nonetheless a possibility that cannot be discounted.

[00:19:20]>> Yes.

[00:19:21]>> With all of that being said, I personally think a loose-knit group of privacy-minded hobby cryptographers to be [music] the most plausible explanation.

[00:19:31]Cicada made their last public statement in April [music] of 2017, merely warning against disinformation, but the current status of the third puzzle and the possibility of a [music] fourth remains clouded in mystery.

[00:19:45]>> Hmm.

[00:19:48]Very interesting.

[00:19:49]>> Yeah. Dr. Dell said, "Don't share." But also, do you like to share?

[00:19:56]>> sharing?

[00:19:57]>> Um >> I kind of agree with the idea that um privacy is a human right.

[00:20:03]>> For sure.

[00:20:04]>> I know with technology being what it is, we're going to be monitored all the time.

[00:20:12]We're going to be >> under the microscope all the time.

[00:20:16]>> I don't like it.

[00:20:17]>> And it's going to be likely under the guise of for your own good, for your own safety.

[00:20:25]>> Similar to the Patriot Act. I mean, mass surveillance got the green light pretty much after all that, and so many of our rights were just out the window under the assumption of, you know, we get bad vibes from you guys, so now we can do whatever we want. Um which sucks. I mean, it's [ __ ] crazy. But you have AIs being embedded into everything.

[00:20:46]Every operating system is getting it outside of Linux. Every every application's getting it.

[00:20:53]So, AI's going to be in everything. And here's the thing about AI that I really like some of the helpful tools that AI gives us access to, and some of the just tedious busywork that it knocks out It's amazing. But, what I don't like is AI does this outside of the environmental stuff and there's many, many things that go on with it. But, it likes to run go tell.

[00:21:18]One of the things that AI does is it'll sit there and it'll be that friend in school that's just like, "Yeah, no, everything's good." and run tell the [ __ ] teacher immediately. I'm run tell the teacher. And it doesn't even run tell the teacher like when you've done something, it will run tell the teacher and be like, "I think this is a suspect. You should start looking at them really hard because I know the patterns that lead to such and such." And it's like, we're too complicated. Human beings can change their minds at the drop of a hat on something. I don't like the run go tell aspect of AI. I also don't like the guardrails that don't make sense. There are plenty of guardrails that make sense, but there's also ones that don't make sense, which are I don't want the general populace to have this kind of power, so we're going to make it not do that even though it's well capable of it. But, I digress.

[00:22:16]This was way before that. And internet not just internet, but privacy in general has been a of dwindling right of ours for far too long.

[00:22:30]When it comes to politics and everything, there is no reason why you need to be in my [ __ ] bank account and there is no reason why you need to be in my [ __ ] bedroom.

[00:22:40]Those are the two things that these [ __ ] that are making the rules cannot help but try to rip and tear their [ __ ] way into. I feel like if he could, [ __ ] Ted Cruz would stand on a chair over top of my damn bedroom when me and my wife are getting down and just look and just be inspecting what's going on.

[00:22:59]She better not grow a dick while you guys are doing that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:23:02]You know, like what the [ __ ] man? These people cannot keep themselves out of your [ __ ] business. And so I agree with them. And if that's the cause, if that's what they were doing, they were recruiting people to try to find a way to get these [ __ ] to leave us alone.

[00:23:22]>> It's been silent since 2017 and >> Well, maybe they found everybody that they wanted and they've been working like hell on it. We can at least hope.

[00:23:31]>> Um we were actually just kind of mentioning this yesterday. I was like, "Now with the vehicles supposedly like the articles are saying like the vehicles are going to like listen and make sure that you're like >> Oh yeah, they're going to be like so >> coherent to like or like you're able to drive because if you're like DWI DUI, then the vehicle just stop. Um they already have access to do that anyway, but they're going to watch you 24/7 inside your vehicle now.

[00:24:02]>> not emotionally stable enough to be driving, they can shut your engine off.

[00:24:06]>> That's what they said? Well, [ __ ] I'm not allowed to drive.

[00:24:08]>> Listen.

[00:24:10]>> [laughter] >> Is that a sexist comment? What do you say?

[00:24:13]>> No, I'm just crazy as a [ __ ] >> Um so I had a friend who uh got really really drunk and was driving.

[00:24:22]And I was trying to convince him otherwise when I was his passenger.

[00:24:26]And we got to a certain point in our drive and he was like, "Man, I got to stop and piss." And I was like, "No, dude. You're inebriated. You need to get to the [ __ ] place you're going to be and be there and not be in the vehicle. There ain't no getting out, getting back in [ __ ] [ __ ] that needs to happen. You just got to get there."

[00:24:47]So we get to the destination where I've raised hell enough to where he's going to drop me off.

[00:24:51]Finally.

[00:24:53]And I'm like, "All right, dude. You should just come in here. Like you got to be done driving. And he was like, "Well, I don't have to go to the bathroom anymore."

[00:25:02]>> Oh, [laughter] no.

[00:25:03]>> "So, I'm just going to go home." And I'm like, "What do you mean?" He's like, "I pissed everywhere."

[00:25:08]>> Well, that's the the least of his concerns in that scenario.

[00:25:11]>> just thinking if they had those cars that could sense everything, one of the things to shut them off would be like, "This [ __ ] is so drunk. He just pissed his pants. Shut the car off."

[00:25:21]>> People have kids and stuff. So, like, there's piss in cars all the time.

[00:25:25]>> You can piss.

[00:25:26]>> Yeah.

[00:25:27]>> That's That's fine.

[00:25:27]>> That's That's a horrible story to tell.

[00:25:30]>> Well, he's dead now, but you know, uh >> So, make good decisions.

[00:25:36]>> But, yeah. So, I think the privacy thing is a big deal. So, if that's what they were recruiting for, then more power to them. For sure. And good. Look, you got to How are you going to vent some [ __ ] like that?

[00:25:47]>> That's the craziest I think that's so cool. I would never be smart enough to even open >> This makes you just want to be like Ange- Angelina Jolie and hackers like >> literally makes me think of that. Like, if I was this intelligent, like, there's no way I could do anything but solve that. Like, >> Really?

[00:26:08]>> like, how amazing would it >> can't even imagine like, what would I >> What would you do if you were that smart?

[00:26:15]>> What would I be? I've just spent my life so [ __ ] stupid, [laughter] man. I can't even I'm too stupid to think of what I would do if I was smart.

[00:26:23]>> Well, I couldn't sleep. Like, I would be like dying to get this, you know, cracked.

[00:26:29]>> Way to go. What a video. Glad we reacted to it. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed it.

[00:26:34]See you in the next one.

[00:26:35]>> Bye.

[00:26:37]>> [music] [music]