Recently, the most skilled mathematicians, code breakers and ethical hackers in the UK spent about 4 weeks attempting to break a series of mathematical codes hidden across the world-wide web for the chance to win a prize – and perhaps, ultimately, a job with GCHQ.
It was gathered the ‘Can You Find It?’ competition , run on behalf of GCHQ by resourcing specialist TMP Worldwide had seen a phenomenal uptake since its launch on 11th September from both experienced and self-taught techies.
A source at the GCHQ said interest in the competition had exceeded expectations with over 400,000 visits to the competition site.
It was however said only around 1% of visitors had been able to crack the complex codes, which were created by a GCHQ team of top mathematicians, and unlock the final answer.
Vigilance learnt that although the conditions of the challenge stipulated that to enter the competition you must come from within the UK and be aged 18 or over, it hadn’t stopped people of all ages from attempting the challenge; the youngest to crack the code so far is a 13 year old boy and the oldest is 75! (Note; the competition rules state that you must be over 18 to apply). The competition is said to have captured the interest of people from all over the world from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
It was learnt the average length of time spent solving the puzzle was 168 hours and the first person to crack it did so within 22 hours of launch! Whilst we don’t know how long was spent cracking each code, the majority of submissions came in 7 days; the fastest was 22 hours.
The ‘Can You Find It?’ competition reportedly went viral across social media platforms and was shared over 25,000 times resulting in 11% of the total visits to the competition portal.
GCHQ’s Head of Resourcing, Jane Jones, said: “We’re delighted with the number of people who have so far attempted the competition and the success rate has revealed a lot of undiscovered talent that we’re keen to explore. It is important that we test peoples’ skills as the jobs we are offering are vital to protecting national security. By doing these tests applicants are proving that they have the skills to combat the online threats confronting us in the 21st century.”
As well as discovering more about the kind of work you could be involved with working for GCHQ,, all successful entrants are entered into a prize draw to win a Google Nexus 7 or a Raspberry Pi. The prize draw closed on Monday, but the codes it is said will be available for a few more weeks. Starting from www.canyoufind.it.co.uk entrants must hunt down four codes hidden around the world-wide web.
In another development, GCHQ, National Crime Agency and BT are collaborating to find the next generation of UK cyber defenders.
Vigilance learnt experts from each organization would work together over the coming months to design the final of this year’s Cyber Security Challenge UK, a nationwide competition programme to bring more talented people into the cyber security profession and address a critical skills shortage that affects government bodies, businesses and citizens alike.
