Question 1

What is Kryptos?

Accepted Answer

Kryptos is an encrypted sculpture installed at CIA headquarters in 1990 by artist Jim Sanborn. Three of its four passages have been solved, but the fourth, K4, remains unsolved after 35 years.

Question 2

Who created Kryptos?

Accepted Answer

The American artist Jim Sanborn created Kryptos, working with a retired CIA cryptographer on the encryption methods.

Question 3

Has K4 been solved?

Accepted Answer

No. K4, the fourth passage of Kryptos and just 97 characters long, remains unsolved despite thousands of attempts by professional cryptographers and amateurs worldwide.

Question 4

Who holds the Kryptos solution?

Accepted Answer

In November 2025, Jim Sanborn's Kryptos archive sold at auction for $962,500. Paradigm became steward of the archive, preserving the solution while inviting the public to attempt to solve K4.