“Hello. We are looking for highly intelligent individuals. To find them, we have devised a test. There is a message hidden in the image. Find it, and it will lead you on the road to finding us. We look forward to meeting the few who will make it all the way through. Good luck.”
This message along with the picture showed up on internet forums on January 4, 2012. An unknown group that signed their messages with “3301” were trying to recruit people with hidden messages that required individuals who were skilled in data security, cryptography, and steganography. It is believed that the purpose of Cicada 3301 is to improve cryptography, privacy and anonymity.
A cicada was revealed after running the original image through Paint.net 3bit steganography plugin .
Many have claimed to have solved it, but they have not been forthcoming with their findings.
video on the whole thing, its super neat and the music is a vibe too
