Young talents as guests: school classes master crypto challenges
Two school classes from Gelsenkirchen and Recklinghausen have gained exciting insights into the world of cryptography as part of a new workshop format organized by the Chair of Cryptanalysis. The event, which was made possible thanks to the support of students from the MysteryTwister internship, celebrated its successful premiere at the RUB’s Alfried Krupp School Lab.
Differentiation courses from grades 9 and 10 at Max Planck Gymnasium in Gelsenkirchen and an advanced mathematics course from Wolfgang Borchert Comprehensive School in Recklinghausen were invited to participate. The students worked on various cryptographic challenges and learned about classic encryption methods – supervised by university students who were able to pass on their enthusiasm for cryptography directly.
“Bringing cryptography to life”
Prof. Dr. Alexander May, Chair of Cryptanalysis, was delighted with the high level of interest:
“It's always fantastic to see the enthusiasm with which young people approach complex topics such as cryptography. Today, the students have proven that they not only have theoretical knowledge, but also the perseverance and curiosity needed in this field. It is precisely these talents that we want to nurture at an early stage.”
Lars Adolph, MysteryTwister project administrator and co-organizer, also draws a positive conclusion:
"We are delighted with the successful launch of the workshop, which gave the students practical insights into cryptography and IT security. Due to the positive response, we want to repeat this offer next semester. It was an exciting experience for the participants as well as for the students. At the same time, the workshop is a valuable opportunity to spark interest in studying IT security. When students suddenly start discussing hash collisions or frequency analysis, you can see what cryptography can trigger: curiosity, fun, and often ambition. That is exactly our goal."
MysteryTwister: challenges, codes, and ciphers for everyone
The workshop was developed as part of the practical course “Creating MysteryTwister Crypto Hacking Challenges.” For many years, the MysteryTwister.org platform has been offering cryptographic challenges for beginners and advanced users. The competition was launched in 2005 by Prof. Hans Dobbertin and is now one of the largest of its kind worldwide. It is being further developed by the Chair of Cryptanalysis (RUB) in collaboration with the CrypTool project and Prof. Esslinger from Siegen.
MysteryTwister is open to anyone interested and invites participants to solve cryptographic puzzles – from Caesar ciphers to current methods. The aim is to teach cryptography in a playful and practical way – regardless of age or prior knowledge.
A format with a future: workshop offered regularly
Following the successful launch, the chair plans to offer the workshop once per semester at the Alfried Krupp Schülerlabor in the future. The aim is to give interested school classes the opportunity to learn about cryptography in an entertaining and educational way.
Interested schools can contact the Alfried Krupp Student Laboratory for upcoming dates.
The Creating MysteryTwister Crypto Hacking Challenges practical course will also be offered again in the summer semester of 2026.