Could you be the government’s next hacking expert? Cyber Security Challenge launches a series of mind-bending puzzles with MailOnline to uncover the next generation of codebreakers



The challenge consists of four separate images. You need to right click on each image and choose 'save as'

You can then manipulate different settings on the image, such as colour, to reveal hidden codes



Email the codes to competitions@cybersecuritychallenge.org.uk using 'Daily Mail Cipher' as the subject line

The results will be seen by the Challenge sponsors, including GCHQ and Sophos, who are on the look out to recruit the next generation of cyber security soldiers


Have you ever fancied yourself as an amateur hacker? Or perhaps a future cyber security soldier defending against malicious malware?

Well, maybe your dream could become a reality. MailOnline has teamed up with the Cyber Security Challenge and Blackberry to offer a festive code breaking challenge that will test your skills.

The game consists of four separate images. Right click on each image and save it to your desktop. After this you’ll need to use your ingenuity to find a hidden numerical or alpabetical code inside by manipulating the image.



Right click on each image and then click 'save as' before manipulating it to find the hidden code



CLUE: Sometimes things are not always what they appear to be, maybe there is something in the numbers. But can you work out how to find the numbers first?



For example, some codes might be revealed by altering the colour and contrast of an image. By putting the image through photo-editing software, seemingly impossible codes are fully revealed.

Or another trick might be to convert the image into another format that then exposes the image's secret.



Whatever happens, the code won't be obvious, but given it's Christmas, here are a few cryptic pointers:



Challenge 1: Sometimes things are not always what they appear to be, maybe there is something in the numbers. But can you work out how to find the numbers first?

Challenge 2: History has taught us much about enciphering messages; Roman Emperors knew a thing or two about this.

Challenge 3: The polar bear’s nose contrasts with the bright background, maybe there is something in the colours you can adjust.

Challenge 4: Mr Murray and Mr Vernam teamed up to bring you this festive scene, all that is a missing is a festive crib.

CLUE: History has taught us much about enciphering messages; Roman Emperors knew a thing or two about this



CYBER CHALLENGE CLUES Challenge 1: Sometimes things are not always what they appear to be, maybe there is something in the numbers. B ut can you work out how to find the numbers first? Challenge 2: History has taught us much about enciphering messages; Roman Emperors knew a thing or two about this. Challenge 3: The polar bear’s nose contrasts with the bright background, maybe there is something in the colours you can adjust. Challenge 4: Mr Murray and Mr Vernam teamed up to bring you this festive scene, all that is a missing is a festive crib.

If you find the codes to the pictures then follow this link and send a message with your answers included, or email them to competitions@cybersecuritychallenge.org.uk using 'Daily Mail Cipher' as the subject line.

The security team will check your answers and confirm if you've cracked the code. The answers and techniques used will be revealed by the Cyber Security Challenge after Christmas.

The results will also be seen by the Challenge sponsors, including organisations such as GCHQ and Sophos, who are on the look out to recruit the next generation of cyber soldiers.



A series of similar challenges created by the government-backed organisation have already helped uncover some of the UK’s most skilled hackers – and talent seems to be found in some of the most unexpected of places.

One of the Challenge’s most successful recruits was a former postman named Dan Summers who, after completing a series of online tests, has now become a cyber security professional at the Royal Mail.

Mr Summers, 35, has a background in IT but left the industry to pursue his own business. When it faltered, he took a casual delivery job over Christmas with the Royal Mail.

He entered the online competition on the suggestion of his mother and aunt, who had heard about it on the radio.



CLUE: The polar bear’s nose contrasts with the bright background, maybe there is something in the colours you can adjust

In a similar challenge held earlier this month, a student working at the University of Huddersfield was crowned one of world’s most skilled cyber security hacker beating seasoned security professionals all over the world.

Glyn Snowden, competing under the name ‘Professor Snowman’, beat over 1,200 cyber enthusiasts from 49 countries in the 2013 DC3 Digital Forensics Challenge to become the highest-ranked civilian in the competition.

Although Mr Snowden’s job involves working with computers, he doesn’t directly work in cyber security. ‘The only part of my role that requires these skills is when the university staff and students come to me with malware on their computers. I’m able to use the skills I’ve acquired to remove malicious programmes and make their systems more secure.’

CLUE: Mr Murray and Mr Vernam teamed up to bring you this festive scene, all that is a missing is a festive crib

Cyber warfare has today become one of the greatest threats to Britain’s national security, according to recent government reports.



Iain Lobban, the director of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), said British government systems are targeted 1,000 times each month.



’Cyberspace is contested every day, every hour, every minute, every second. I can vouch for that from the displays in our own operations centre of minute-by-minute cyber attempts to penetrate systems around the world. The threat is a real and credible one.’



Last Christmas cyber criminals made £12 million from online fraud in the UK and IT security experts are warning shoppers that unless they take precautions thieves will be in for a bumper haul again.

Between November 1 2012 and February 28 Action Fraud received 11,161 reports of online fraud, with the average loss to each victim being £1,700.

These crimes netted cyber criminals some £12 million. The Christmas fraud figures run to March because for many online festive shoppers, it's not immediately apparent that they've been fleeced.

The government, working alongside the Cyber Security Challenge, is currently on a recruitment drive to identify future cyber security soldiers.