Could you work for James Bond?

[jjex22]

Hi there everyone!

this is just one for all those that love puzzles, codes, maths and the like - the GCHQ (British Government Communications Headquarters - the British signals intelegence agency) has published this code as a recruitment aid - solve it and you're on path to joining the GCHQ! thought some of you may find it fun - I've been running over it for over a day, but I'm really not smart enough!

The code is here;

Can you crack it? (http://www.canyoucrackit.co.uk/)

Have fun!... Oh and be good sports - don't solve it with software and please don't post the answer below - you may spoil it for someone else! :)

[forrestcupp]

Well, it's not Ascii codes. I might be able to get a job as a custodian. :)

[forrestcupp]

I would try to enter it as machine code and run it, but I'm afraid it might be malicious. ;)

[jjex22]

lol, no I wouldn't reccomend it since it's deisgned to just provide you a key word! - i've now got my brother's missus to give me one of his programming books (no idea if I'm on the right track - but he, like you got through it in 5 mins, myself, who has got as far as completing the first block of C++ tutorials isn't doing as well! - I tried flicking through my minix stuff earlier but realised I didn't understand) I'm better at the hardware end of things - he's all about the programming (after years of feeling a bit dumb explaining linux problems to him it was pretty nice over the summer building him a pc and being asked questions I knew the answer to :D!

[F.G.]

isn't GCHQ miles away? in cheltenham or gloucester or somewhere. apparently they are doing some hardcore surveillance over there.

[jjex22]

That sounds about right - I remember the fuss when they built that massive doughnut building, think they work mostly with the NSA - from what I understand we've probbably been *flagged* for mentioning the GCHQ and NSA in the same post .. .sory guys and girls! ;)

[F.G.]

hmm, yes, i get the feeling i've probably been flagged a few times by now for researching completely innocent and academic interests. i've actually been stop and searched twice under a recently introduced law, for entirely unrelated reasons to why it was actually introduced, even by the admittance of those involved. (i am both bearded and eccentric).

still i trust that all this info is being archived in messy and difficult to use databases with concurrency issues and without dual redundancy or backups, and most of it wont actually be useful.

i think i'm going to have a go at this challenge, could be fun!

[jjex22]

still i trust that all this info is being archived in messy and difficult to use databases with concurrency issues and without dual redundancy or backups, and most of it wont actually be useful.



lol, from what I understand they just download it to laptops and leave them on trains anyway!

Ah yes the fun of the stop and search - when I was a teenager I got searched almost monthly - but then I had baggy jeans, hanging out in large groups up Camden every weekend, wondering why they always picked on us! .. used to cost us a fortune in confiscated cigarettes - now I've not even smoked in 2 years! and I walk past the kids shouting "why you always picking on us" oh the fun! :)

[KaitlinM]

One of these days, they won't need puzzles to recruit. They'll already know who the best candidates are!

[CryptAck]

Very strange patterns. I'm definitely having a difficult time in cracking it. Just need to find a starting point... :(

[CryptAck]

I've discovered a lot of patterns, but they don't seem to equate to anything for hex. I'm starting to wonder if it's in hex format to throw us off.

Who knows....

I'm spent the last hour and a half on it, and I'm starting to conclude that I'm not intelligent enough to find the link...:(

[Paqman]

I'm spent the last hour and a half on it, and I'm starting to conclude that I'm not intelligent enough to find the link...:(

I wouldn't get too down. If it's for a job with a top security agency, they probably designed it so it would take a hell of a lot longer than half an hour to crack.

[haqking]

Save yourself some time

http://www.canyoucrackit.co.uk/soyoudidit.asp

Hardly worth the effort for a 25-30K a year job ;-)

You will be making tea and coffee and made to feel stupid all day by the real cryptanalysts

If you want a clue as to the code in the first place which eventually leads you to this link, then think about base 64, think about the characters not exceeding F.

Cheers

[forrestcupp]

If you want a clue as to the code in the first place which eventually leads you to this link, then think about base 64, think about the characters not exceeding F.

Cheers
So if you convert the hex to binary and separate it into 6 bit packets, then look at the Base64 encoding, it will tell you something? If that's all it is and they used standard encoding, then that's pretty simple for something like this.

[haqking]

So if you convert the hex to binary and separate it into 6 bit packets, then look at the Base64 encoding, it will tell you something? If that's all it is and they used standard encoding, then that's pretty simple for something like this.

http://www.canyoucrackit.co.uk/15b436de1f9107f3778aad525e5d0b20.js

However the point is to get to the prize which i posted above in previous post as follows

http://www.canyoucrackit.co.uk/soyoudidit.asp

So after all that you get to a apply section, which you could do direct from the GCHQ page from the jobs section...LOL

And like i say it is for a low level job, i used to know someone who worked for GCHQ and they said it was the most unfun and boring job ever, too many posh british geeks and too static, not enough dynamicism in the work environment which i can imagine to be true.

[CryptAck]

So if you convert the hex to binary and separate it into 6 bit packets, then look at the Base64 encoding, it will tell you something? If that's all it is and they used standard encoding, then that's pretty simple for something like this.

Had me fooled. :)

I was most definitely looking for something much more difficult. I started with ASCII, UNICODE,and EBCIDIC. After that I started thinking there was a pattern.

Oh well, that's why I don't work in that field :)

[Paqman]

not enough dynamicism in the work environment which i can imagine to be true.

Lack of dynamism in public sector shocker!

It's the kind of job where people's expectations are the reality are likely to be way out of line. See also, forensic science and 99% of the military.

[haqking]

Lack of dynamism in public sector shocker!

It's the kind of job where people's expectations are the reality are likely to be way out of line. See also, forensic science and 99% of the military.

The military ? But my career was just like in the posters and videos they showed me...LOL

And why is this thing about James Bond anyways, he didnt work for GCHQ or crack codes, more appropriate would be do you want to work for Alan Turing.

James Bond was British Secret Service which is MI6, though they work along side MI5 and GCHQ as part of JIC.

Anyway i'm being pedantic ;-)

[F.G.]

good clarification there, haqking.
i think it was a cyanide given to him by the 'GCCS' that turing finally used to top himself.

i remember talking to a guy who does computer forensics for the MET and he described the work as pretty boring and underpaid, he basically spends his time looking for disturbing images on hard drives, and if they come across encryption it's a brick wall.

i think the uk government have just pumped a bunch of money into anti-cybercrime stuff i wonder how they'll use it.

[haqking]

good clarification there, haqking.
i think it was a cyanide given to him by the 'GCCS' that turing finally used to top himself.

i remember talking to a guy who does computer forensics for the MET and he described the work as pretty boring and underpaid, he basically spends his time looking for disturbing images on hard drives, and they come across encryption it's a brick wall.

i think the uk government have just pumped a bunch of money into anti-cybercrime stuff i wonder how they'll use it.


They have, it is in an aim to recruit more budding cyber crime specialists to combat the cyber threats the UK is or may be facing.

They should offer the money in worthwhile salaries for Govt jobs such as this instead and they wouldnt have a need in the first place.

The salary of 25-30k they are offering is a IT Support salary answering phone calls from users looking for the ANY key

Best to contract for them instead and earn 5x as much.

[F.G.]

if they're looking for the ANY key this might help:
http://www.wherestheanykey.co.uk/

[forrestcupp]

http://www.canyoucrackit.co.uk/15b436de1f9107f3778aad525e5d0b20.js

However the point is to get to the prize which i posted above in previous post as follows

http://www.canyoucrackit.co.uk/soyoudidit.asp

So after all that you get to a apply section, which you could do direct from the GCHQ page from the jobs section...LOL

The code doesn't really look like they are using Base64, though.

// bits [ 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 ] [ 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 ]
// opcode - - -
// mod -
// operand1 - - - -
// operand2 - - - - - - - -
Did you actually solve it by using Base64?

[haqking]

The code doesn't really look like they are using Base64, though.

// bits [ 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 ] [ 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 ]
// opcode - - -
// mod -
// operand1 - - - -
// operand2 - - - - - - - -
Did you actually solve it by using Base64?

I never said it used Base64, i just said think about it...LOL

I didnt need to solve it with anything, rather than spend time trying to solve the problem of climbing the wall, i decided to find another way around it instead ;-)

The result is the same

[forrestcupp]

I didnt need to solve it with anything, rather than spend time trying to solve the problem of climbing the wall, i decided to find another way around it instead ;-)

The result is the same

Ha, ha. That's kind of what I figured. It's too bad it's not that easy all of the time in real life.

[haqking]

Ha, ha. That's kind of what I figured. It's too bad it's not that easy all of the time in real life.

of course not, but in the intelligence field, it is not about how you achieve the result, it is about obtaining the result.

[grahammechanical]

What would it mean if the word was SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion? Who would you be working for then? Pay would be better but no chance of an industrial tribunal for a claim of unfair dismissal.

[haqking]

What would it mean if the word was SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion?

It would mean you were incorrect.

or infact it would be a Dr NO ;)

[Hells_Dark]

hum…
Could it be a picture ?
haha, I tried converting each line in binary in order to see if there was something looking like a ascii art message :]

They could have give us the text instead of the picture,
I've been bored retyping the numbers.

[hakermania]

hum…
Could it be a picture ?
haha, I tried converting each line in binary in order to see if there was something looking like a ascii art message :]

They could have give us the text instead of the picture,
I've been bored retyping the numbers.
I don't know a lot about encrypting and decrypting so I didn't have a clue where to start from when I saw this picture, saw, the 1st thing I did was to download the image and open it in case it had anything hidden there LOL :D

It seems interesting though, does anybody know where can I find other puzzles like this, maybe simpler ones (as it seems guys that know about the matter don't have a clue) to get me started?

[haqking]

I don't know a lot about encrypting and decrypting so I didn't have a clue where to start from when I saw this picture, saw, the 1st thing I did was to download the image and open it in case it had anything hidden there LOL :D

It seems interesting though, does anybody know where can I find other puzzles like this, maybe simpler ones (as it seems guys that know about the matter don't have a clue) to get me started?

You could have a read of my cryptography primer if you are interested in falling asleep...LOL

http://haqking.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/cryptography-a-newbie-primer/

Nothing amazing but you might find it useful, i have a litle puzzle on there...kind of

[hakermania]

You could have a read of my cryptography primer if you are interested in falling asleep...LOL

http://haqking.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/cryptography-a-newbie-primer/

Nothing amazing but you might find it useful, i have a litle puzzle on there...kind of

Bookmarked, thanks dude.

[haqking]

Bookmarked, thanks dude.

no worries you are welcome, like i said nothing amazing, it is only a primer, pretty basic stuff but may be of use depending on your knowledge.

Cheers

[jjex22]

Hardly worth the effort for a 25-30K a year job ;-)


sadly true - looking up the GCHQ yesterday, I saw a few news articles about their top talent being snapped up by the internet giants - story of the public sector!

[red_Marvin]

Why, why do they present the 320 hex digits as a bloody image requiring me to retype the whole thing.

[Dangertux]

Why, why do they present the 320 hex digits as a bloody image requiring me to retype the whole thing.


Tip -- don't try to decode the image : grab the script from the page that contains the function that creates the image as well as the passphrase. Much easier than messing with the image.

Just my 2 cents.

[urosg3]

Try this code

Pr0t3ct!on#cyber_security@12*12.2011+