Solution to CIA’s Kryptos sculpture is found in Smithsonian vault

Title & context

• Several commenters note the submission title should mention “Kryptos” because that’s what draws HN interest, though others point out HN guidelines prefer original article titles.
• Many emphasize that a Kryptos solution is inherently more interesting than “some arbitrary CIA secret.”

How the puzzle was “solved”

• Core debate: is finding the written solution in the Smithsonian archives a real “solution,” or just a side‑channel shortcut?
• Some see this as fully in‑bounds and even poetic: investigative work and library science, not STEM brute force, cracked the last part—akin to capturing an Enigma codebook.
• Others feel cheated: years of cryptanalytic effort bypassed; it’s more like “finding it in a drawer” than solving the cipher.
• Commenters liken it to a side-channel attack and say that’s actually what intelligence agencies really do versus the idealized “pure cryptography” model.

Ethical and legal questions

• Dispute over whether the journalists should publish the solution, knowing the artist planned to auction it to pay medical expenses.
• Some propose public crowdfunding the “solution” and releasing it once a target amount is raised.
• Long subthread on possible legal claims: tortious interference with contract or business relationships, and copyright infringement for photographing notes.
• Others argue intent to harm isn’t clear, interference must be “improper,” and that copying for research and not distributing may be fair use; the legal situation is described as murky and likely expensive to litigate.
• Auction-house legal threats are widely criticized as heavy‑handed.

Quality and design of the puzzle

• Several note Kryptos may have been effectively unsolvable by design, given a multi‑stage scheme by a non‑cryptographer relying on specific keys and period references that may have aged out.
• Some say that after 35 years of failure, this indicates a bad puzzle; others respond that, for the CIA, exploiting side channels is thematically appropriate and thus “in spirit.”

Emotional reaction & healthcare tangent

• Many express sadness: the solving community didn’t get a cryptanalytic win; the artist is ill and financially pressured; legal wrangling depresses the artwork’s value.
• This quickly broadens into a large argument about the U.S. healthcare system: Medicare gaps, out‑of‑pocket caps, medical bankruptcy risk, and comparisons with European public–private mixed systems.
• Views range from “advanced care is inherently expensive” to “U.S. pricing and insurance overhead are the real problem; universal or public options could be cheaper and fairer.”