Can you Crack it?

Guill

Intelligence agency GCHQ has launched an online code-cracking game in a bid to track down the spies of the future.

The service, which works with MI5 and MI6, has set up a website which hosts a Matrix-style code, as it attempts to look beyond traditional methods of recruitment.
Visitors to the site - which has no GCHQ branding - are faced with seemingly meaningless rows and columns of numbers and letters, and given seven hours to come up with the hidden keyword.


Anyone successfully unearthing the word will be redirected to the GCHQ recruitment website, where they will be able to apply for jobs suited to their skills.
Interest in the campaign is being generated through social media websites, where the agency hopes to tap into a new generation of self-taught hackers to help tackle cyber crime.
A GCHQ spokesperson said: "The digital arena is fast moving and, from a recruitment perspective, we acknowledge the need to engage with prospective candidates in new and innovative ways.
"With this marketing initiative, we hope to reach out to a broader audience, who may not be attracted to traditional advertising methods.
"We also hope that the code-breaking challenge will help increase awareness of GCHQ's mission and the important role it plays in safeguarding the nation."
The organisation is looking to recruit around 35 spies, ideally with knowledge of unusual languages, as well as the code-breaking skills.
The game will be online until December 12.

So.......
The Uk are looking for the new James Bond?

Seems like a good idea to me. I've been looking at it for about 10 mins and wouldn't even know where to start.

I love the idea of spies travelling the world stealing secrets etc, some people might get paranoid at that thought though.


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

AnonoBoy

Yeah they'll track you down alright.

If you get it right 2 days later you "disappear".......

dmc100

I tried "password" but no luck. Might try 12345 next.

muppetkiller

It looks like a Shell Script or something ...Possibly an embedded image ?

petes

Is it a Gibson?

Guill

dmc100 wrote: »

I tried "password" but no luck. Might try 12345 next.

Nah, it's probably something to do with a picture on the guy that made its wall.

Noopti

Surely if they are looking for spies of the future, a test involving your proficiency at pleasuring hot women sexually is more beneficial?

Pfft....I don't remember ever seeing Bond spend 7 hours trying to crack some stupid code. :rolleyes:

CreepingDeath

dmc100 wrote: »

I tried "password" but no luck. Might try 12345 next.

Nah, it's probably going to be a Muslim related word.

Someone has typed it in already and pasted it into "pastebin"

eb 04 af c2 bf a3 81 ec 00 01 00 00 31 c9 88 0c
0c fe c1 75 f9 31 c0 ba ef be ad de 02 04 0c 00
d0 c1 ca 08 8a 1c 0c 8a 3c 04 88 1c 04 88 3c 0c
fe c1 75 e8 e9 5c 00 00 00 89 e3 81 c3 04 00 00
00 5c 58 3d 41 41 41 41 75 43 58 3d 42 42 42 42
75 3b 5a 89 d1 89 e6 89 df 29 cf f3 a4 89 de 89
d1 89 df 29 cf 31 c0 31 db 31 d2 fe c0 02 1c 06
8a 14 06 8a 34 1e 88 34 06 88 14 1e 00 f2 30 f6
8a 1c 16 8a 17 30 da 88 17 47 49 75 de 31 db 89
d8 fe c0 cd 80 90 90 e8 9d ff ff ff 41 41 41 41

sensibleken

Looks like Ebcdic but doesnt transalate into anything meaningful

My name is URL

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

massdebater

If someone solves it, post it here. Free jobs for everyone! Problem recession?

foxyboxer

Noopti wrote: »

Surely if they are looking for spies of the future, a test involving your proficiency at pleasuring hot women sexually is more beneficial?

Pfft....I don't remember ever seeing Bond spend 7 hours trying to crack some stupid code. :rolleyes:

The new Bond movie was hit with a miniscule budget.
It will be 2 hours of Daniel Craig trying to solve this with periodic visits to redtube.

phasers

I bet it's guest, it's always guest.

upandcumming

sensibleken wrote: »

Looks like Ebcdic but doesnt transalate into anything meaningful

Thought that myself. But no good!

Guill

phasers wrote: »

I bet it's guest, it's always guest.

user123

upandcumming

My name is URL wrote: »

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

How?

My name is URL

upandcumming wrote: »

How?

I've no idea! Just saw it posted on another site and thought I'd share the link.

gurramok

Hidden word is Jihad

moco

gurramok wrote: »

Hidden word is Jihad

Hmmm, are you sure?:)

Palytoxin

How hard can it be?

MarkR

I didn't do any programming, but the first column is hexadecimal is

eb
0c
d0
fe
0
75
d1
8a
8a
d8

in decimal is

178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
2832

I'll have a look at the rest later.

Odd. Looking over it manually, that couldn't be right. My function must have been wrong. Wonder where the sequence came from...

moco

I'm just looking at it like a magic eye and hoping something jumps out at me. :pac:

Stiffler2

Looks like an IPV6 mac address to me
Decipher the first 3 columns of numbers and you find out the manufacturer etc...

Drill further down & you can find out what kind / type of device it is.



It also could be hexa decimal code which is also easily translated but again see response below




But then again I'm not really arsed

sensibleken

MarkR wrote: »

I didn't do any programming, but the first column is hexadecimal is

eb
0c
d0
fe
0
75
d1
8a
8a
d8

in decimal is

178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
2832

I'll have a look at the rest later.

Are you sure? I have eb as 235 in Dec.

going by this table anyway

http://www.lookuptables.com/ebcdic_scancodes.php

Molloys Clondalkin

First line left column gives me

45 62 20 30 34 20 61 66 20 63
32 20 62 66 20 61 33 20 38 31
20 65 63

easy peasy now

Trevor Kent

MarkR wrote: »

I didn't do any programming, but the first column is hexadecimal is

eb
0c
d0
fe
0
75
d1
8a
8a
d8

in decimal is

178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
2832

I'll have a look at the rest later.

You sure, Ill admit im using a Hex to Decimal converter (cause im a lazy a$$) bum im getting the first four numbers in decimal as 235, 12, 208, 254???

AnonoBoy

42

Molloys Clondalkin

I think theres a lot of number groups thrown in there to put you off

04 00 41 31 to start then some filler in there to confuse

Reminds me of an old numbers station I used to listen to, Either the paoacher or sweedish rhapsody and there was a cuban one reported in florida some moons ago that sounds similar.

massiveattack

Have it solved:


"Bad priests cant say mass"

Standard Toaster

The Keyword is TREADSTONE

Wetai

hunter2 didn't work

massiveattack

"Craig doyle is a plonker, why do they keep let him present shows, at least his parents got free UPC for a year"

Teyla Emmagan

Isn't this how they caught that kid in the last Stargate?

Just remember how that turned out for him.

AeoNGriM

MASON! WHAT DO THE ****IN NUMBERS MEAN?!!!

Corkboi

Well their all HEX numbers anyway.

Its a start........


edit: was a bit late with that one........

recyclebin

wheres the forgot password button?

Sky King

The actual image is called cyber.png. I tried that with no luck.

They're obviously smarter than me.

humanji

Well the question it asks is "Can you crack it?". Being honest, I typed in "No", but it came back saying that that's incorrect. So apparently I can crack it.

Anyway, it's a safe bet that they're expecting people to crack the page and not the code. They're looking for hackers, after all.

Razzen

its shell code,

you can reproduce the asm code from it!

danniemcq

won't this become pointless once it is broke?

someone will post it on twitter and thats end of story

Kevin Duffy

danniemcq wrote: »

won't this become pointless once it is broke?

someone will post it on twitter and thats end of story

Assuming we're all seeing the same thing and there is only one, fixed solution.

Razzen

http://zeltser.com/reverse-malware/convert-shellcode.html

you can use the tools here to get the asm/exe file

Razzen

for anyone interested....

Assembly language source code :
***************************************
00000000 jmp 0x6
00000002 scas dword[es:edi]
00000003 ret 0xa3bf
00000006 sub esp,0x100
0000000c xor ecx,ecx
0000000e mov byte[ss:esp+ecx*1],cl
00000011 inc cl
00000013 jne 0xe
00000015 xor eax,eax
00000017 mov edx,0xdeadbeef
0000001c add al,byte[ss:esp+ecx*1]
0000001f add al,dl
00000021 ror edx,0x8
00000024 mov bl,byte[ss:esp+ecx*1]
00000027 mov bh,byte[ss:esp+eax*1]
0000002a mov byte[ss:esp+eax*1],bl
0000002d mov byte[ss:esp+ecx*1],bh
00000030 inc cl
00000032 jne 0x1c
00000034 jmp 0x95
00000039 mov ebx,esp
0000003b add ebx,0x4
00000041 pop esp
00000042 pop eax
00000043 cmp eax,0x41414141
00000048 jne 0x8d
0000004a dec eax
0000004b cmp eax,0x42424242
00000050 jne 0x8d
00000052 pop edx
00000053 mov ecx,edx
00000055 mov esi,esp
00000057 mov edi,ebx
00000059 sub edi,ecx
0000005b rep movs byte[es:edi],byte[esi]
0000005d mov esi,ebx
0000005f mov ecx,edx
00000061 mov edi,ebx
00000063 sub edi,ecx
00000065 xor eax,eax
00000067 xor ebx,ebx
00000069 xor edx,edx
0000006b inc al
0000006d add bl,byte[esi+eax*1]
00000070 mov dl,byte[esi+eax*1]
00000073 mov dh,byte[esi+ebx*1]
00000076 mov byte[esi+eax*1],dh
00000079 mov byte[esi+ebx*1],dl
0000007c add dl,dh
0000007e xor dh,dh
00000080 mov bl,byte[esi+edx*1]
00000083 mov dl,byte[edi]
00000085 xor dl,bl
00000087 mov byte[edi],dl
00000089 inc edi
0000008a dec ecx
0000008b jne 0x6b
0000008d xor ebx,ebx
0000008f mov eax,ebx
00000091 inc al
00000093 int 0x80
00000095 nop
00000096 nop
00000097 call 0x39
0000009c inc ecx
0000009d inc ecx
0000009e inc ecx
0000009f inc ecx

Wile E. Coyote

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3452376

These guys seem to be getting somewhere. We'll just wait till they crack it and then borrow the code.

gustavo

massiveattack wrote: »

Have it solved:


"Bad priests cant say mass"

Stop getting Ted wrong

Cee-Jay-Cee

I've cracked it. It says "Who is Keyser Söze?"

Turtyturd

Has anyone tried crossing out all the numbers and letters that match and seeing what is left?

It's either that or QWERTY.

LaVail

I tried "Area 51" and "poop"

No luck as of yet..........

CreepingDeath

CJC999 wrote: »

I've cracked it. It says "Who is Keyser Söze?"

Nope, it's a phone number.

Jen Pigs Fly

No I can't crack it ...

MarkR

sensibleken wrote: »

Are you sure? I have eb as 235 in Dec.

going by this table anyway

http://www.lookuptables.com/ebcdic_scancodes.php

Yeah, error in my function. Wasn't used to the format of the HEX2DEC function and it pulled in crap from somewhere.