SpyCast - “I Helped Solve the Final Zodiac Killer Cipher” - with David Oranchak

David Oranchak was born in 1974, the same year that the Zodiac Killer wrote his final message to the world. 46 years later, David would be a part of a small team of code-breaking enthusiasts who cracked the Zodiac 340 cipher. For decades, the message eluded even the best cryptanalysts from across the intelligence field.
David joined Andrew in the studio this week to discuss how he, along with mathematician Sam Blake and programmer Jarl Van Eycke, finally put an answer to the puzzle after 51 years. They talk through the methods Dave’s team used to decrypt the 340, how the cipher went unsolved for so long, and how it felt to read the words of a serial killer. Tune in to learn more about one of the most amazing feats of cryptanalysis in our modern age.
And…
To learn even more and follow along with the journey to solve the Z340, check out Dave’s KZbin channel. Make sure to watch his video on cracking the historical ciphers from Mary, Queen of Scots - A piece of intelligence history we cover here at the International Spy Museum!
Quotes of the Week
“It felt like we had gotten a brand new letter from the Zodiac Killer. You know, the case had been dormant for so long … We started to see the message coming through, it was like he was back to life so to speak, he was talking to us again after so many years of not saying anything. So that was kind of eerie to kind of hear the voice of a serial killer.” - David Oranchak.
Dive deeper into this episode with additional resources:
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HOST - Dr. Andrew Hammond, Ph.D. is Historian & Curator at the International Spy Museum, home of the world's preeminent collection of intelligence-related artifacts. Previous chapters have included seven years in the RAF, Public Humanities at the 9/11 Museum in NYC, Fellowships here, there, and everywhere, and academia. He is author of the forthcoming book: "Struggles for Freedom": Afghanistan & US Foreign Policy Since 1979. He loves bialys.
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The International Spy Museum (SPY) is an independent nonprofit museum which documents the tradecraft, history, and contemporary role of espionage. It holds the largest collection of international espionage artifacts on public display.
To plan a visit to the International Spy Museum: www.spymuseum.org/

[@FollowingStorm0]

Great episode! Shout out Oranchak. Love to listen to talk relating to cryptography.

[@lisacesari89]

Joseph James DeAngelo Sr. was a Navy B-52 Bomber Gunner in the Pacific Theater in WWII. Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. served offshore in Vietnam on two Navy Destroyers from December 1964 - June 1967, then was probably hanging out at all 3 military libraries mentioned by Graysmith until August 1968, when he debarked at Mare Island. At the end of his Naval Service. Wondering if his Dad had cryptography books around at home, also, there in Sacramento, near his McClellan Air Force Base. 🤔

[@shantanusapru]

Awesome!!

[@dirtpoorrichard9562]

How is it awesome?

[@shantanusapru]

@@dirtpoorrichard9562 How is it not?

[@dirtpoorrichard9562]

@@shantanusapru hmmm. Okay then.

[@lisacesari89]

Wasn't the Zodiac Killer modeled character in "Dirty Harry" named, 'Scorpio', David? Joseph DeAngelo was born on November 8, 1945. 👀

[@theycantallbezodiac]

And? Do you know just how many coincidences this case throws up?

[@lisacesari89]

​@@theycantallbezodiacYes. Troll. It's called Circumstantial Evidence. That circled Horoscope clipping the Zodiac Killer sent. Go look at it. NOVEMBER 8TH is included. Troll. 👀

[@lisacesari89]

@DavidOranchak Joe Jr DeAngelo = 13 Letter My Name Is Cypher? 🤔 Um, check the Zodiac Killer 13 character My Name Is cipher for 'James DeAngelo' please, David Oranchak. Why didn't Joe use the name he actually goes by, when he joined the Exeter Police Department on May 18, 1973? As shown in that August 1973 SUN article? Were you worried someone could do a background check with your full name, Joe? 🤔 Just wondering, David. That is odd. Joe's engagement announcements to Bonnie Colwell in 1970 and Sharon Huddle in 1973 both had Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. as his name.

[@theycantallbezodiac]

Many names fit the cipher but we don't know for sure that Zodiac left his name, why would he?

[@lifeinkvetchistan4773]

Maybe the Zodiac killer was a former mathematician or military cryptographer from the Bay Area??

[@lisacesari89]

I am partial to the Caesar Cipher. 🔱

[@TimeStampCopv4]

speak for yourself

[@lisacesari89]

@@TimeStampCopv4 I am. 😁

[@lisacesari89]

Still wondering when Zodiac Killer case investigators will realize that Joseph DeAngelo, Golden State Killer, was also the Zodiac Killer, including the pre-post canonical crimes, in Northern and Southern California. 🤔

[@theycantallbezodiac]

...because there's no evidence and it's just your theory?

[@lisacesari89]

@@theycantallbezodiac Nope! Spent a year on Instant Messenger sharing said argument with the self named Zodiac Killer case experts, daring them to eliminate Joseph DeAngelo as being the Zodiac Killer. To date, none has been able to. 🚫

[@lisacesari89]

@@theycantallbezodiac I replied to you. It disappeared. Oh, well. 😁

[@theycantallbezodiac]

@@lisacesari89 Golden State Killer wasn't Zodiac. Where is your evidence?

[@lisacesari89]

@@theycantallbezodiac Spent a year providing that to self named Zodiac Killer 'experts' on the case. To date, none could eliminate Joseph DeAngelo for the canonical crimes nor the pre-post canonical crimes. Can't fill you in here. Sorry. I am interested in talking to those truly interested in solving the Zodiac Killer case. Thanks. 🙏

[@gbonkers666]

Be sure to drink your Ovalatine.

[@TimothyOBrien-do1jo]

Ed Edwards was the Zodiac Killer, as a 'useful idiot' his job was to redirect attention away from the theft of US Navy and NSA code books and encryption gear. The model for this was the Whitechapel Murders in England of the 19th Century being a means of diversion to redirect attention away from the 'Mad Hatters Tea Party', or a Marxist backed assassination plot targeting the British Royal Family and other prominent leaders in Europe, and with the USAs hand conveniently placed on the proverbial 'smoking gun'. A divisive agenda. Both Ed Edwards and Samuel Little were at large in Kentucky back in 2006, and as underground SJWs the threat they represented was to be played as leverage supporting and assassination plot targeting the former Queen of England. As a political tool, Edwards clearly advocated for right wing virtues like celebacy and abstinence, as well as supporting gun control, what serial offender wouldn't? AKA, the proverbial 'bogeyman in the woods' who's job was to keep people home at night and scared. You don't get that kind of political support without assistance from unfriendly Intel, who can pretty much engage freely in espionage activity when everyone is at home and scared. One cannot 'see something' or 'say something' when one is at home and scared. The Black Dahlia murder is another fine example of a redirection, with Elizabeth Short being a USAF Widow, and her murder leveraged as a threat against people who may or may not have been aware of the exploitation of military flight perks to convey Atomic Secrets to good ol' Uncle Joe and the USSR; AKA "THE MAN OF STEEL"... Like I said THE BAD GUYS DO NOT PLAY NICE.

[@theycantallbezodiac]

Ed Edwards is not Zodiac, case remains unsolved

[@lisacesari89]

😂

[@theycantallbezodiac]

@@lisacesari89 strange that you've accused people of trolling yet youve become the troll, oh the joys of the internet.

[@lisacesari89]

​​@@theycantallbezodiacYou are, clearly, the Most Interesting Man in the World. And, know everything about the Zodiac Killer. Based on the untold WISDOM contained in your every post. Go research Joseph DeAngelo as the Zodiac Killer, as I suggested multiple times, previously, and learn something useful, Neil the Troll. 👹