In December, Robert Hannigan, director of GCHQ – the UK equivalent of the US NSA – published a Christmas card that included a challenge to the public. A puzzle, which, as it seems, is not so easy.
So far over 600.000 people from around the world have tried to crack the code and no one has done it yet. Let's say that 30.000 people have reached the final stage, but they can not move on.
The service reports that the puzzle solving contest expires on January 31, so they stayed over 48 hours for those who want to try.
Of course, after the end of the contest, GCHQ will publish the solution in February.
The puzzle is in five stages, the first of which is a Nonogram shading grid challenge. If you manage to fill it in correctly, it will generate a QR code that can be scanned with the phone to access the second part of the quiz.
Each section must be completed to show the next step, which seems to go beyond the previous one in difficulty.
Hannigan states that: “we need people from all walks of life, of all abilities, to see the problems from every visual corner."
It also offers a little help: "It's not as abstract as you think."
So if you think you have the skills, and want something to spend your weekend, break the GCHQ puzzle.
