# Which messages and puzzles are genuinely Cicada's? · Cicada 3301 > Three answers have been proposed. Only material signed with key 7A35090F (fingerprint ending 181F 01E5 7A35 090F) is Cicada's. leads, with evidence 2… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cicada-3301/questions/QST0D7R6ZJC3WGR/which-messages-and-puzzles-are-genuinely-cicadas Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-26T11:57:05+00:00 --- **0** # Which messages and puzzles are genuinely Cicada's? Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·Part of [Who set the Cicada 3301 puzzles, and why?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cicada-3301/questions/QST0D7R6Z2R63QN/who-set-the-cicada-3301-puzzles-and-why)·3 answers·0·0 following **Most likely: only material signed with key 7A35090F (fingerprint ending 181F 01E5 7A35 090F) is Cicada's** Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted. ## Where it stands Three answers have been proposed. Only material signed with key 7A35090F (fingerprint ending 181F 01E5 7A35 090F) is Cicada's. leads, with evidence 2 for: partly supported by its tests. Two are still possible. ## Why it matters Any analysis of who wrote the puzzles depends on a clean corpus. Cicada said in January 2012 that it would sign every message with one key⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7R6SYP5W3P/cicadas-security-part-2-when-a-verified-pgp-key-takes-you-on), and imitators have used the name since. ## Answers 3 [**Only material signed with key 7A35090F (fingerprint ending 181F 01E5 7A35 090F) is Cicada's.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cicada-3301/answers/ANS0D7R74Y85G9M/only-material-signed-with-key-7a35090f-fingerprint-ending) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 2 for Most likely [**Some genuine Cicada material (images, posters, book pages) was never signed and must be authenticated another…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cicada-3301/answers/ANS0D7R75NP5AGT/some-genuine-cicada-material-images-posters-book-pages-was) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 1 for Most likely [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cicada-3301/answers/ANS0D7R765A45BW/none-of-these) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: none yet Still possible ## History 1. 2012[Cicada 3301: the key, created 5 January 2012, remains on public keyservers.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7R6SPW5RZG/openpgp-public-key-7a35090f-user-id-cicada-3301-845145127)For: Only material signed with key 7A35090F (fingerprint ending 181F 01E5 7A35 090F) is Cicada's. 1. 2014[Hern puts forward: some genuine Cicada material (images, posters, book pages) was never signed and must be authenticated another…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7R6TEA53N5/cicada-3301-i-tried-the-hardest-puzzle-on-the-internet-and) 1. 2014[Hern: physical posters and image puzzles carried clues rather than signatures and were reached through the chain.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7R6TEA53N5/cicada-3301-i-tried-the-hardest-puzzle-on-the-internet-and)For: Some genuine Cicada material (images, posters, book pages) was never signed and must be authenticated another… 1. 2017[Noble puts forward: only material signed with key 7A35090F (fingerprint ending 181F 01E5 7A35 090F) is Cicada's.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7R6SYP5W3P/cicadas-security-part-2-when-a-verified-pgp-key-takes-you-on) 1. 2017[Noble: the first signed message stated that all future messages would be signed with this key.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7R6SYP5W3P/cicadas-security-part-2-when-a-verified-pgp-key-takes-you-on)For: Only material signed with key 7A35090F (fingerprint ending 181F 01E5 7A35 090F) is Cicada's. 1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/cicada-3301/questions/QST0D7R6ZJC3WGR/which-messages-and-puzzles-are-genuinely-cicadas%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/cicada-3301/questions/QST0D7R6ZJC3WGR/which-messages-and-puzzles-are-genuinely-cicadas%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/cicada-3301/questions/QST0D7R6ZJC3WGR/which-messages-and-puzzles-are-genuinely-cicadas%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/cicada-3301/questions/QST0D7R6ZJC3WGR/which-messages-and-puzzles-are-genuinely-cicadas%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/cicada-3301/questions/QST0D7R6ZJC3WGR/which-messages-and-puzzles-are-genuinely-cicadas%23add-source) Where it fits Cicada 3301 [**Who set the Cicada 3301 puzzles, and why?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cicada-3301/questions/QST0D7R6Z2R63QN/who-set-the-cicada-3301-puzzles-and-why)Key question · most likely a private international group of privacy and anti-censorship technologists, recruiting like-minded people for… [Were the signed texts written by one person or several?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cicada-3301/questions/QST0D7R6ZT63GW1/were-the-signed-texts-written-by-one-person-or-several)Open · 3 answers, inconclusive **Which messages and puzzles are genuinely Cicada's?** You're here · only material signed with key 7A35090F (fingerprint ending 181F 01E5 7A35 090F) is Cicada's [ Ask a question under this one ]