Elonka Dunin
Encyclopedia
Elonka Dunin is an American game developer at Simutronics Corp. in St. Louis, Missouri
, where she has worked since 1990. She is Chairperson Emerita and one of the founders of the International Game Developers Association
's Online Games group, has contributed or been editor in chief on multiple IGDA State of the Industry white papers, and is one of the Directors of the Global Game Jam
.
Dunin has published a book of exercises on classical cryptography, and maintains cryptography-related websites about topics such as Kryptos
, a sculpture at the Central Intelligence Agency
containing an encrypted message, and another on the world's most famous unsolved codes. She has given several lectures on the subject of cryptography, and according to the PBS
series NOVA scienceNOW
she is "generally considered the leading Kryptos expert in the world." In 2010, bestselling author Dan Brown
named a character, Nola Kaye, in his novel The Lost Symbol after her, in an anagram
pattern.
, the older of two children to Stanley Dunin, a Polish-American mathematician
, and Elsie Ivancich
, a Croatian-American
dance ethnologist at UCLA.
Dunin graduated in 1976 from University High School, studied astronomy at UCLA
for roughly one year, and then joined the United States Air Force
, working as an avionics
technician at RAF Mildenhall
in the United Kingdom and Beale Air Force Base
in California.
culture. In 1989, while working as a temporary legal secretary in Los Angeles
, this interest overlapped into the early multiplayer games, such as British Legends on CompuServe
and Simutronics
' GemStone II on GEnie
.
In 1990, Dunin moved to St. Louis
and began working for the online game company Simutronics
. Simutronics launched its own website, play.net, in 1997 with Dunin as General Manager of Online Games, managing Simutronics' online community. Dunin was the product manager for GemStone III, executive producer for the Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess
-based multiplayer game Alliance of Heroes, and worked in a variety of production and development roles on most of Simutronics' other products, including CyberStrike, Modus Operandi, DragonRealms
, HeroEngine
, Fantasy University, and Tiny Heroes. She is a founding member of the International Game Developers Association
's Online Games
SIG
and edited four of their annual White Papers on various aspects of the online game industry, such as "Web and Downloadable Games" and "Persistent Worlds."
, and been interviewed on radio and television about related subjects such as Kryptos
, the Smithy Code
, and Ricky McCormick's encrypted notes
. In an interview with GIGnews.com, Dunin said that in the year 2000 she cracked the PhreakNIC
v3.0 Code, an amateur cryptographic puzzle created by a hacker group
, and that this launched her public interest in high-profile ciphers. Because of the location of Kryptos on CIA
grounds, physical access to the sculpture is restricted. According to Wired News
, in 2002, Dunin gave a presentation to CIA analysts about steganography
and Al-Qaeda
, and "[i]n 2002, Dunin was one of the lucky few who saw [Kryptos] in person", and "she also made rubbing
s of the text". Based on her visit, she launched the beginnings of what became a comprehensive website about the sculpture, and also became co-moderator of a Yahoo Group that is attempting to decipher the encrypted messages on the sculpture.
In 2003, Dunin organized a team which solved the ciphers on Kryptoss sister sculpture, the Cyrillic Projector
.
When Kryptos sculptor Jim Sanborn chose to release information about an error on the sculpture in 2006, he contacted Dunin to make the announcement. In July 2007, Dunin appeared on the PBS
program NOVA scienceNOW
, as an expert on Kryptos, and in 2009, contributed two articles about the sculpture for the book Secrets of The Lost Symbol: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind The Da Vinci Code Sequel. a companion book to author Dan Brown
's novel The Lost Symbol. Dunin had assisted Brown with the research for the novel, and Brown named a character in the novel after her. The character "Nola Kaye" is an anagrammed form of "Elonka".
In 2006, Dunin compiled a book of several hundred exercises in classical cryptography, which was published in the United States as The Mammoth Book of Secret Codes and Cryptograms, and in the UK as The Mammoth Book of Secret Code Puzzles. The book also includes a few details about several unsolved codes, such as Kryptos.
's NSA Cryptologic History Symposium, Def Con
, Shmoocon
, Notacon
, PhreakNIC
, and Dragon*Con, and has also given lectures at the International Game Developers Conference
. She has been invited to be a co-host on the Binary Revolution webcast three times. In October 2012, she will be Guest of Honor at Archon
.
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, where she has worked since 1990. She is Chairperson Emerita and one of the founders of the International Game Developers Association
International Game Developers Association
International Game Developers Association is the professional society for over 10,000 video and computer game developers worldwide.It is incorporated in the United States as a non-profit organization....
's Online Games group, has contributed or been editor in chief on multiple IGDA State of the Industry white papers, and is one of the Directors of the Global Game Jam
Global Game Jam
The Global Game Jam is an annual event in which participants design and create digital and non-digital games over the course of one weekend. Inspired by the Nordic Game Jam, and organized by the International Game Developers Association...
.
Dunin has published a book of exercises on classical cryptography, and maintains cryptography-related websites about topics such as Kryptos
Kryptos
Kryptos is an encrypted sculpture by American artist Jim Sanborn located on the grounds of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia. Since its dedication on November 3, 1990, there has been much speculation about the meaning of the encrypted messages it bears...
, a sculpture at the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
containing an encrypted message, and another on the world's most famous unsolved codes. She has given several lectures on the subject of cryptography, and according to the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series NOVA scienceNOW
NOVA scienceNOW
NOVA scienceNOW is a newsmagazine version of the long running and venerable PBS science program Nova. Premiering on January 25, 2005, the series was originally hosted by Robert Krulwich, who described it as an experiment in coverage of "breaking science, science that's right out of the lab, science...
she is "generally considered the leading Kryptos expert in the world." In 2010, bestselling author Dan Brown
Dan Brown
Dan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories...
named a character, Nola Kaye, in his novel The Lost Symbol after her, in an anagram
Anagram
An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
pattern.
Early life, education and early career
Elonka Dunin was born in Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, the older of two children to Stanley Dunin, a Polish-American mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, and Elsie Ivancich
Elsie Ivancich Dunin
Elsie Ivancich Dunin is a dance ethnologist , choreographer, professor and author specializing in folk dance from Croatia, Macedonia, and Romani in Macedonia. Her studies focus on Croatian diaspora communities and associated sword dances in both Old and New World contexts...
, a Croatian-American
Croatian-American
Croatian Americans are citizens of the United States of Croatian descent.-Numbers:According to the 2007 US Community Survey, there are 420,763 Americans of full or partial Croatian descent....
dance ethnologist at UCLA.
Dunin graduated in 1976 from University High School, studied astronomy at UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
for roughly one year, and then joined the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, working as an avionics
Avionics
Avionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
technician at RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force station located at Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as an RAF station, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing...
in the United Kingdom and Beale Air Force Base
Beale Air Force Base
Beale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east of Marysville, California. Originally known as Camp Beale....
in California.
Online games
In the 1980s, she became involved with the growing BBSBulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
culture. In 1989, while working as a temporary legal secretary in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, this interest overlapped into the early multiplayer games, such as British Legends on CompuServe
CompuServe
CompuServe was the first major commercial online service in the United States. It dominated the field during the 1980s and remained a major player through the mid-1990s, when it was sidelined by the rise of services such as AOL with monthly subscriptions rather than hourly rates...
and Simutronics
Simutronics
Simutronics is an American online games company whose products include GemStone IV and DragonRealms. It was founded in 1987 by David Whatley, with husband and wife Tom & Susan Zelinski...
' GemStone II on GEnie
GEnie
GEnie was an online service created by a General Electric business - GEIS that ran from 1985 through the end of 1999. In 1994, GEnie claimed around 350,000 users. Peak simultaneous usage was around 10,000 users...
.
In 1990, Dunin moved to St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
and began working for the online game company Simutronics
Simutronics
Simutronics is an American online games company whose products include GemStone IV and DragonRealms. It was founded in 1987 by David Whatley, with husband and wife Tom & Susan Zelinski...
. Simutronics launched its own website, play.net, in 1997 with Dunin as General Manager of Online Games, managing Simutronics' online community. Dunin was the product manager for GemStone III, executive producer for the Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....
-based multiplayer game Alliance of Heroes, and worked in a variety of production and development roles on most of Simutronics' other products, including CyberStrike, Modus Operandi, DragonRealms
DragonRealms
DragonRealms is a medieval fantasy game set in the world of Elanthia. One of the oldest and most popular examples of the MUD genre, it was developed from 1992-1995 and released in February 1996. It was originally intended for an online service planned by the Ziff-Davis company...
, HeroEngine
HeroEngine
HeroEngine is a 3D game engine and server technology platform originally developed by Simutronics Corporation specifically for building MMO-style games...
, Fantasy University, and Tiny Heroes. She is a founding member of the International Game Developers Association
International Game Developers Association
International Game Developers Association is the professional society for over 10,000 video and computer game developers worldwide.It is incorporated in the United States as a non-profit organization....
's Online Games
Online game
An online game is a game played over some form of computer network. This almost always means the Internet or equivalent technology, but games have always used whatever technology was current: modems before the Internet, and hard wired terminals before modems...
SIG
Special Interest Group
A Special Interest Group is a community with an interest in advancing a specific area of knowledge, learning or technology where members cooperate to effect or to produce solutions within their particular field, and may communicate, meet, and organize conferences...
and edited four of their annual White Papers on various aspects of the online game industry, such as "Web and Downloadable Games" and "Persistent Worlds."
Games
Dunin has held a variety of production and development roles during her 20 years at Simutronics. Games that she has worked on include:- GemStone III
- GemStone IVGemStone IVGemStone IV is a multiplayer text-based online role-playing game produced by Simutronics. Players control characters in a High Fantasy game world named "Elanthia". The first playable version of the game was known as GemStone ][ and was launched in April 1988 on GEnie...
- DragonRealmsDragonRealmsDragonRealms is a medieval fantasy game set in the world of Elanthia. One of the oldest and most popular examples of the MUD genre, it was developed from 1992-1995 and released in February 1996. It was originally intended for an online service planned by the Ziff-Davis company...
- CyberStrikeCyberStrikeCyberStrike is a futuristic 3D combat online game by Simutronics Corporation, involving team combat between customizable mechs, each of which is controlled by a different player....
- CyberStrike 2
- Alliance of Heroes (originally Hercules & Xena: Alliance of Heroes)
- Modus Operandi
- Orb Wars
- Fantasy University
- Tiny Heroes
Cryptography
Dunin has written books and articles about cryptographyCryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
, and been interviewed on radio and television about related subjects such as Kryptos
Kryptos
Kryptos is an encrypted sculpture by American artist Jim Sanborn located on the grounds of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia. Since its dedication on November 3, 1990, there has been much speculation about the meaning of the encrypted messages it bears...
, the Smithy Code
Smithy code
The Smithy code is series of letters embedded, as a private amusement,within the April 2006 approved judgement of Mr Justice Peter Smith on the The Da Vinci Code copyright case...
, and Ricky McCormick's encrypted notes
Ricky McCormick's encrypted notes
Ricky McCormick's encrypted notes are two hand-written documents found in the pockets of murder victim Ricky McCormick when his body was discovered in a field in St. Charles County, Missouri, on June 30, 1999...
. In an interview with GIGnews.com, Dunin said that in the year 2000 she cracked the PhreakNIC
PhreakNIC
PhreakNIC is an annual hacker and technology convention held in Nashville, Tennessee. It is organized by the Nashville 2600 Organization and draws upon resources from SouthEastern 2600 . The Nashville Linux User Group was closely tied with PhreakNIC for the first 10 years, but is no longer an...
v3.0 Code, an amateur cryptographic puzzle created by a hacker group
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
, and that this launched her public interest in high-profile ciphers. Because of the location of Kryptos on CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
grounds, physical access to the sculpture is restricted. According to Wired News
Wired News
Wired News is an online technology news website, formerly known as HotWired, that split off from Wired magazine when the magazine was purchased by Condé Nast Publishing in the 1990s. Wired News was owned by Lycos not long after the split, until Condé Nast purchased Wired News on July 11, 2006...
, in 2002, Dunin gave a presentation to CIA analysts about steganography
Steganography
Steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one, apart from the sender and intended recipient, suspects the existence of the message, a form of security through obscurity...
and Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
, and "[i]n 2002, Dunin was one of the lucky few who saw [Kryptos] in person", and "she also made rubbing
Rubbing
Rubbing is a reproduction of the texture of a surface with something to deposit marks, most often created with Charcoal, Wax, Crayons, Chalk, or various forms of Blotted and Rolled Ink...
s of the text". Based on her visit, she launched the beginnings of what became a comprehensive website about the sculpture, and also became co-moderator of a Yahoo Group that is attempting to decipher the encrypted messages on the sculpture.
In 2003, Dunin organized a team which solved the ciphers on Kryptoss sister sculpture, the Cyrillic Projector
Cyrillic Projector
The Cyrillic Projector is a sculpture created by American artist Jim Sanborn in the early 1990s, and was purchased by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1997...
.
When Kryptos sculptor Jim Sanborn chose to release information about an error on the sculpture in 2006, he contacted Dunin to make the announcement. In July 2007, Dunin appeared on the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
program NOVA scienceNOW
NOVA scienceNOW
NOVA scienceNOW is a newsmagazine version of the long running and venerable PBS science program Nova. Premiering on January 25, 2005, the series was originally hosted by Robert Krulwich, who described it as an experiment in coverage of "breaking science, science that's right out of the lab, science...
, as an expert on Kryptos, and in 2009, contributed two articles about the sculpture for the book Secrets of The Lost Symbol: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind The Da Vinci Code Sequel. a companion book to author Dan Brown
Dan Brown
Dan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories...
's novel The Lost Symbol. Dunin had assisted Brown with the research for the novel, and Brown named a character in the novel after her. The character "Nola Kaye" is an anagrammed form of "Elonka".
In 2006, Dunin compiled a book of several hundred exercises in classical cryptography, which was published in the United States as The Mammoth Book of Secret Codes and Cryptograms, and in the UK as The Mammoth Book of Secret Code Puzzles. The book also includes a few details about several unsolved codes, such as Kryptos.
Public speaking
Dunin has given talks on Kryptos and the Cyrillic Projector at the National Security AgencyNational Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
's NSA Cryptologic History Symposium, Def Con
DEF CON
DEF CON is one of the world's largest annual computer hacker conventions, held every year in Las Vegas, Nevada...
, Shmoocon
ShmooCon
ShmooCon is an American hacker convention organized by The Shmoo Group. There are typically about 35 different talks and presentations, on a variety of subjects related to computer security and cyberculture.-History:...
, Notacon
Notacon
Notacon is an art and technology conference which takes place annually in Cleveland, Ohio. The name Notacon became a bacronym for Northern Ohio Technological Advancement Conference, however use of this was mostly dropped after the first year...
, PhreakNIC
PhreakNIC
PhreakNIC is an annual hacker and technology convention held in Nashville, Tennessee. It is organized by the Nashville 2600 Organization and draws upon resources from SouthEastern 2600 . The Nashville Linux User Group was closely tied with PhreakNIC for the first 10 years, but is no longer an...
, and Dragon*Con, and has also given lectures at the International Game Developers Conference
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
. She has been invited to be a co-host on the Binary Revolution webcast three times. In October 2012, she will be Guest of Honor at Archon
Archon (convention)
Archon is a multigenre convention that was held annually in Collinsville, Illinois now in Maryland Heights, Missouri and is hosted by St. Louis Science Fiction, Ltd. It is the largest convention of its type in the St...
.
Books and articles
- (editor) IGDA Online Games White Paper, 2002. PDF
- (editor) IGDA Online Games White Paper, 2003. PDF
- (editor) IGDA Web & Downloadable Games White Paper, 2004. PDF
- (editor-in-chief) IGDA Persistent Worlds White Paper, 2004. PDF