Code cracked in search for next generation of cyber spies (but they might be disappointed with the £25k salary)



GCHQ looks beyond its traditional recruitment pool of Oxbridge to answer the threat of cyber crime

Those who unscramble the code could be fast-tracked to a secret service career

'A number of people' solved the code in just a few hours



It was a code-cracking puzzle designed to attract the brightest young minds in the country.

But those who successfully worked out the UK intelligence agency's secret message could have been forgiven for struggling to get their head around the point of the whole process.

After cracking the complex code they were redirected to a job application they could have found far more easily using a simple Google search.

And furthermore, the salary for the role at GCHQ is a mere £25,000 - less than half of what candidates could earn in the private sector, a former employee told the Daily Telegraph.

Earlier this year, GCHQ set a puzzle for would-be spies as part of a high-profile recruitment drive - but those who made it through to the final stages discovered the post paid only £25,000

Moving with the times: It is hoped the online code-cracking competition will draw out potential cyber spies more efficiently

In response to increased threats from cyber crime, the Government agency decided to throw open its recruitment process to self-taught hackers and mathematical geniuses who have not been educated at Oxbridge.

GCHQ launched the online code-cracking competition in a bid to seek out the next generation of internet-savvy spies with the hope they can help protect the country from the growing problem of cyber crime.

But within hours of the code being posted online this morning 'a number of people' had appeared to have solved it, the Daily Telegraph said.

One - a 23-year-old who had left GCHQ for a role in the private sector - claimed that the the secret service's inability to match salaries from big corporations was the reason is faced staffing problems.

He told the newspaper: 'There is an incredibly high turnover at GCHQ and that is imply down to pay.



'Those who can do this challenge could easily earn up to £80,000 a year in the private sector.

'It's disappointing that as a society we are not willing to acknowledge those skills by improving their pay.'

It is thought the GCHQ's modern approach will enable the agency to quickly identify those with the right skills for espionage in the computer age.



The puzzle is featured on an unbranded website with the domain name canyoucrackit.co.uk.



Competitors are then faced with a grid of apparently random numbers and letters along with a countdown clock. They are then given seven hours to unscramble the code to reveal a secret keyword.

A GCHQ spokesman said: 'The target audience for this particular campaign is one that may not typically be attracted to traditional advertising methods and may be unaware that GCHQ is recruiting for these kinds of roles.

'Their skills may be ideally suited to our work and yet they may not understand how they could apply them to a working environment, particularly one where they have the opportunity to contribute so much.'

Spy games: Players who crack the code are directed to the website for the GCHQ (pictured) and invited to apply for a job

Those who successfully crack the code will be automatically redirected to the GCHQ website's recruitment page and invited to apply for a job. They could then be fast-tracked to a career in the secret service.

The agency launched the recruitment campaign as an internet 'viral', spread via social networking sites - such as Facebook and Twitter - and blogs.

It is hoped the campaign will lead the GCHQ to a previously-untapped source of mathematical whizz kids, with the capabilities to help protect the country from increasing levels of cyber crime.

In a departure from its traditional method of recruiting graduates directly from the universities of Oxbridge, the agency now looking beyond this enlistment pool to include candidates who could be self-taught hackers.

The campaign comes after concerns were raised by the Intelligence and Security Committee about the GCHQ's 'inability to retain a suitable cadre of internet specialists' to respond to cyber threats, it said in an annual report.

Earlier this year Foreign Secretary William Hague said there had been an 'exponential rise' in incidents, with systems such as welfare and tax databases 'liable to attack'.

'Countries that cannot maintain cyber security of their banking system, of the intellectual property of their companies, will be at a serious disadvantage in the world,' Mr Hague said.

In October Iain Lobban, who runs GCHQ, warned that sensitive data had been targeted and that the 'UK's continued economic well-being' was under threat.

He said sensitive data on government computers had been targeted, along with defence, technology and engineering firms' designs.

He revealed there had been 'one significant (but unsuccessful) attempt on the Foreign Office and other government departments this summer'.



A new Government Joint Cyber Unit is to focus on the growing threat of cyber attacks from organised criminals, hackivists, terrorists and hostile states.

Applicants must be British-born citizens but anyone who has previously illegally hacked would be ineligible.

Up until the 1990s MI5 would invite exceptionally bright students for a 'cup of tea and a chat', but in the past two decades it has openly advertised for recruits.

