Question

review the excerpt from the code book.
cryptanalysts realize that their real goal is to find a way of cracking the rsa cipher, the cornerstone of modern encryption...
use the meaning of the underlined words above to understand the sentence.
davids family was puzzled by the short and cryptic note he left on the table.
what does cryptic mean?
o clear
o plain
o believable
o mysterious

Explanation:

In the context of "cryptanalysis" (the study of codes and ciphers), the root "crypt -" is related to secrecy or mystery. A "cryptic" note would be one that is mysterious and hard to understand, which aligns with the idea of something related to codes (which are meant to be secret/mysterious until cracked). The other options ("clear", "plain", "believable") do not fit the context of something related to the field of cryptography (where the goal is to crack ciphers, i.e., solve mysterious coded messages).

Answer:

mysterious