The government has launched a new code-breaking challenge in a bid to recruit some of Britain’s best brains to help fight cyber security threats against the UK.
The code, featured on the GCHQ website, is the first challenge in a series of five puzzles altogether, of which winners may have the chance to be recruited by GCHQ.
"It’s a puzzle but it’s also a serious test – the jobs on offer here are vital to protecting national security," said Jane Jones of GCHQ.
The "Can you find it?" challenge follows last year’s "Can you crack it?" campaign, among others, which attracted 5,000 new applicants for the agency, from which 170 applications were taken forward.
"The 21st century is confronting us with online threats that are difficult and dangerous, so we want employees who have evolved with the ever-changing digital world and therefore have the right skills to combat these challenges."
I must admit, it does seem a bit of a PR spin, and comes at a time when GCHQ and the UK government would certainly like to brush over any bad press regarding the recent Snowden revelations. It’s a bit questionable who would actually end up working for GCHQ via this ‘competition’, seeing as any new potential employee has to go through an extensive vetting process. I looked at applying myself, it’s scary stuff!
But with a large share of the government’s cybersecurity budget, a cool £650m, GCHQ is no doubt expanding and already has links with the country’s leading universities who supply the best students when it comes to science, maths and cryptography.
The codes have been created by a GCHQ team of mathematicians, and are aimed at attracting those who have the brains but not necessarily the practical experience or qualifications to join GCHQ and "support the government’s national cyber security agenda".
The government says it wants to find mathematicians, code breakers and what it calls "ethical hackers" from across the country who want to follow in the footsteps of computing greats like Alan Turing, whose efforts at Bletchley Park during world war two provided key intelligence for the allies by deciphering messages encrypted by the German Enigma machine.
The jobs on offer vary from cyber and technical operations to maths and cryptography, and salaries range from £26,000 to £60,000. I guess that’s pretty enticing.
Applicants will have six weeks to hunt down the four codes which follow the initial cypher, above. Each code needs to be entered into the "Can you find it?" website to unveil the next clue in the online treasure hunt. Winners also have the chance to win a Raspberry Pi or Google Nexus 7. Worth a shot? I’ve already started. I’d love to nab a Nexus 7.
