Mysterious NSA Tweet Decoded
The National Security Agency’s (NSA) Twitter posted a cryptic message Monday morning:
tpfccdlfdtte pcaccplircdt dklpcfrp?qeiq lhpqlipqeodf gpwafopwprti izxndkiqpkii krirrifcapnc dxkdciqcafmd vkfpcadf. #MissionMonday #NSA #news
— NSA (@NSACareers) May 5, 2014
At first, Internet users were pretty confused. Some assumed it was just a bad typo while others claimed the NSA accidentally revealed an encrypted message not meant for the public. However, Internet users with simple crypto-solvers quickly unraveled the mystery.
The NSA tweet was merely a recruiting message to those capable of decoding the tweet. The decoded message states: “Want to know what it takes to work at NSA? Check back each Monday in May as we explore careers essential to protecting our nation.”
The NSA tweet was a simple cryptogram known as a substitution cipher in which each letter of the code is replaced by another letter. Anyone with a software capable of frequency analysis could have decoded the NSA tweet pretty easily.
When contacted about the NSA tweet, NSA spokeswoman Marci Green told CNN, “NSA is known as the code makers and code breakers. The tweet was part of our recruitment efforts to attract the best and the brightest.”
The NSA’s recruitment strategy has worked quite well so far. The NSA tweet has been retweeted more than 1,100 times since Monday, and many media outlets have reported on the recruitment message.
A job at the NSA would mean focusing on foreign and domestic surveillance, including breaking into foreign governments and corporations which are protected by many layers of security. Cryptography is an important branch of the NSA, and the NSA will always need more cryptographers to secure important, classified data.
The NSA needs to meet its hiring goal for the current fiscal year, and its efforts to recruit skilled cryptographers aren’t limited to just tweets. The NSA has expanded its recruitment to contacting hackers and other skilled computer personnel, and even setting up a page for those attending DefCon, the annual hackers’ conference in Las Vegas.
A job at the NSA requires high security clearance, but the agency assures you that indiscretions in the past will not eliminate the possibility of a job. The NSA says “If you’re really interested, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot.”
The NSA has sent several coded tweets this year to celebrate certain holidays, but Monday’s recruitment tweet was quite special. The NSA also says to check back each Monday in May to explore new careers.
[Image via Google Images]
