UK sets code-breaking test in search for new spies

Crack the code and become a British spy. That is the tempting prospect open to clever computer types able to decipher a series of letters and numbers.

Her Majesty’s Secret Service is seeking to take new people on and it has launched a cryptic, online puzzle to help select candidates.

“It is supposed to be a challenge,” said recruitment expert Frank Dorrell. “It is really intended to test some technical skills so you need to be able to understand some technologies to be able to do this. But it tests someone’s perseverance, someone’s determination, but also someone’s ability to think quite laterally.”

The UK wants to better protect itself amid fears of cyber attacks in the future, in a sign that spying has come a long way since James Bond’s heyday.

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