Secret Agents Hold Code-Breaking Contest

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Secret Agents Hold Code-Breaking Contest 228

Posted by michael on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:37AM from the rated-e-for-enigma dept.

Spudley writes "I just heard on the BBC that the British Government's not-so-secret code breaking organisation, GCHQ, has launched a little Christmas crypto challenge for all you budding secret agents. Should be fun to try it out... even if you're not brave enough to actually send in an entry."

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Secret Agents Hold Code-Breaking Contest

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The answer... (Score:5, Funny)

by GameGod0 ( 680382 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:39AM (#11115382)

... is obviously 42.

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Answer: (Score:5, Funny)

by k4_pacific ( 736911 ) writes: <k4_pacific@yah[ ]com ['oo.' in gap]> on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:40AM (#11115392) Homepage Journal

Drink your ovaltine?

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Uh... (Score:5, Funny)

by grub ( 11606 ) writes: <slashdot@grub.net> on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:42AM (#11115411) Homepage Journal

that page just looks like a few columns of perl code to me.

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egassem (Score:3, Funny)

by fishdan ( 569872 ) * writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:42AM (#11115413) Homepage Journal

sdren era syug uoy

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Answer? (Score:3, Funny)

by CypherXero ( 798440 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:43AM (#11115419) Homepage

We have your IP address. Thanks!

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Re:Answer: (Score:5, Funny)

by pete-classic ( 75983 ) writes: <hutnick@gmail.com> on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:43AM (#11115422) Homepage Journal

Be sure to drink your Ovaltine. Ovaltine? A crummy commercial? Son of a bitch!

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I see how it works... (Score:5, Funny)

by jmcwork ( 564008 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:44AM (#11115431)

You win the contest, they recruit you, then you spend the rest of your life drinking vodka martinis, getting shot at, and having gorgeous women fall at your feet. (Time to start code breaking!)

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Re:Uh... (Score:5, Funny)

by iapetus ( 24050 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:46AM (#11115449) Homepage

Tsk. It's easy to tell the difference - the GCHQ code challenge is neatly formatted.

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Don't enter if you're an American (Score:5, Funny)

by russotto ( 537200 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:47AM (#11115459) Journal

They'll know

1) You're too smart for the good of the country and

2) You're disloyal enough to cozy up to a foreign spy agency.

Can you say "do-not-fly list"? Thought so.

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The connection between the two columns... (Score:3, Funny)

by Woogiemonger ( 628172 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:48AM (#11115463)

..is that all the people listed have really fucked up names.

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It says... (Score:3, Funny)

by guitaristx ( 791223 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:49AM (#11115468) Journal

All your codebreak are belong to uk.

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Quick Robin! (Score:3, Funny)

by WormholeFiend ( 674934 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:49AM (#11115471)

To the BatBeowulf-Cluster!

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Automated entry submission system (Score:5, Funny)

by Tackhead ( 54550 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:50AM (#11115477)

GCHQ has launched a little Christmas crypto challenge for all you budding secret agents. To submit your entry to the challenge, just pick up your phone, call your mother, and tell her your solution!

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Winners will be wisked away... (Score:0, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:51AM (#11115494)

...on black helicopters to a secret island somewhere off the coast of England where you will enjoy the amenities of the village.

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Re:The answer... (Score:2, Funny)

by Fire Dragon ( 146616 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:55AM (#11115514)

I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to begin working on a problem like this. Anyone feel like offering an explanation of how to start ?

All you need to do is to hack into their system and look for the right answer. No need to break the code in contest.

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Part 1 solved (Score:4, Funny)

by mpcooke3 ( 306161 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:56AM (#11115532) Homepage

What is the connection between the men in the first list and the women in the second list?

They all have very strange sounding names.

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Re:Don't enter if you're an American (Score:5, Funny)

by david.given ( 6740 ) writes: <dg@cowlark.com> on Friday December 17, 2004 @10:56AM (#11115536) Homepage Journal

Can you say "do-not-fly list"?
Do-not-flih...
Doughnut fly...
Do-nut-fly...
Duh-not-fluh...
Apparently not.

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What an amazing co-incidence... (Score:1, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @11:04AM (#11115599)

I was at school with KEZHQ WSNIEC.

J.

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Re:GCHQ (Score:5, Funny)

by museumpeace ( 735109 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @11:05AM (#11115607) Journal

I would have assumed the US has an equivalent of the GCHQ organization. I enquired about it and was told we have No Such Agengcy.

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Books? No -- I want a glass cutting laser watch! (Score:5, Funny)

by IronChefMorimoto ( 691038 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @11:10AM (#11115652)

From the challenge page:

"Just to make things a little more interesting, GCHQ will be offering copies of 'Big Bang' the latest book by Simon Singh, the well known mathematician and code expert, to six successful solvers whose names will be drawn from a hat."

Screw that. If a bunch of secret agents are running a contest, I expect to win at least a friggin' mini-missile launching pen or some C4 toothpaste w/ detonator toothbrush.

Wait -- maybe the books are hollowed out and contain flasks that convert into single-shot 9mm pistols!

Too bad I can't even balance my checkbook, let alone compete in this contest. If you win, let us know if the books including an expandable titanium katana sword bookmark.

IronChefMorimoto

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Re:GCHQ (Score:2, Funny)

by gavin_barr ( 765622 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @11:17AM (#11115709)

NSA? But there is No Such Agency.

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I know who they are (Score:1, Funny)

by Reignking ( 832642 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @11:26AM (#11115792) Journal

They are all people who have never been in my kitchen.

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Re:The penguins talk to you, they only steal my be (Score:4, Funny)

by brsmith4 ( 567390 ) writes: <brsmith4@gmail. c o m> on Friday December 17, 2004 @11:38AM (#11115950)

To both of you: only I and the makers of the Matrix are allowed to misspell 'cipher'... As it was a name of a rather blah character in the movie and has been the domain for my email address for quite some time, I think we have the monopoly on this one, pal(s). Please immediately cease your infringement on our intellectual properties so as to prevent this from becoming a _legal_ matter.

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Re:egassem (Score:3, Funny)

by Whafro ( 193881 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @11:57AM (#11116121) Homepage

okay, so if it took me like twenty minutes to figure that out, I'm not even going to look at the FA.

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Easy (Score:3, Funny)

by Bloater ( 12932 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @12:30PM (#11116561) Homepage Journal

Haha! I got it and I'm not telling any of you!!!

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Re:Books? No -- I want a glass cutting laser watch (Score:2, Funny)

by Wybaar ( 762692 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @12:37PM (#11116653)

I want to win the date with a sexy Russian agent.

I wouldn't. More than likely Bond has already had a date with her, and I don't want to be diagnosed with diseases Bond1 -Bond18 [ianfleming.org]. Better to have a cool gadget in my book -- if You Only Live Twice [imdb.com] I'm not going to waste one of my lives suffering with venerial diseases.

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Not a cipher (Score:3, Funny)

by Bertie ( 87778 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @12:46PM (#11116771) Homepage

Aren't these just ordinary Polish names?

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Re:Don't enter if you're an American (Score:2, Funny)

by DMUTPeregrine ( 612791 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @01:01PM (#11116940) Journal

Hey, those are good enough for you to be elected president!

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Re:British predictability (Score:2, Funny)

by freqres ( 638820 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @01:03PM (#11116973)

I'm guessing one of the men is David Beckham and one of the women is Victoria Adams (Posh Spice)

Ahhh, Jesus Christ's mum and dad.

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What? (Score:2, Funny)

by chord.wav ( 599850 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @01:31PM (#11117291) Journal

And let them know how much I know??? I don't think so.

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Re:interesting "puzzle" at most (Score:1, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @02:26PM (#11118026)

When facing a problem I usually avoid solving it by either reading slashdot or I start touching my penis.

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I've decoded it! (Score:2, Funny)

by jwdb ( 526327 ) writes: on Friday December 17, 2004 @03:59PM (#11119130)

It's a DMCA gag order...

Jw

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Secret Agents Hold Code-Breaking Contest 228

Secret Agents Hold Code-Breaking Contest More Login

Secret Agents Hold Code-Breaking Contest

The answer... (Score:5, Funny)

Answer: (Score:5, Funny)

Uh... (Score:5, Funny)

egassem (Score:3, Funny)

Answer? (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Answer: (Score:5, Funny)

I see how it works... (Score:5, Funny)

Re:Uh... (Score:5, Funny)

Don't enter if you're an American (Score:5, Funny)

The connection between the two columns... (Score:3, Funny)

It says... (Score:3, Funny)

Quick Robin! (Score:3, Funny)

Automated entry submission system (Score:5, Funny)

Winners will be wisked away... (Score:0, Funny)

Re:The answer... (Score:2, Funny)

Part 1 solved (Score:4, Funny)

Re:Don't enter if you're an American (Score:5, Funny)

What an amazing co-incidence... (Score:1, Funny)

Re:GCHQ (Score:5, Funny)

Books? No -- I want a glass cutting laser watch! (Score:5, Funny)

Re:GCHQ (Score:2, Funny)

I know who they are (Score:1, Funny)

Re:The penguins talk to you, they only steal my be (Score:4, Funny)

Re:egassem (Score:3, Funny)

Easy (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Books? No -- I want a glass cutting laser watch (Score:2, Funny)

Not a cipher (Score:3, Funny)

Re:Don't enter if you're an American (Score:2, Funny)

Re:British predictability (Score:2, Funny)

What? (Score:2, Funny)

Re:interesting "puzzle" at most (Score:1, Funny)

I've decoded it! (Score:2, Funny)

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