WANT TO BE A GCHQ SPY? PLAY THIS GAME

The blueprints for a teleporting ray gun have been stolen. Clues that could lead to the perpetrator have been left all over the reception area. Each piece of evidence leads to a snippet of a code. That code will unlock a document that has another clue for figuring out who stole the blueprints.

That’s the opening scene from a game launched this week that could become a training ground for the next generation of cyber security experts and GCHQ spooks. And 12-year-old Ben Rackliff designed it.

“My dad helped me with the idea, but I designed all of it,” Rackliff tells WIRED.

Rackliff spent a month building the first stage of his Cluedo-like challenge, which is part of an online cybersecurity game launched this week. The game, called Cyphinx, is designed to get people excited about careers with employers like surveillance agency GCHQ, and is the latest project from Cyber Security Challenge UK.

The Challenge — which is in part-funded by the UK government and supported by GCHQ — claims to address a global lack of interest in cybersecurity. By 2020 there is expected to be a global shortfall of 1.5 million staff, according to a study by (ISC)², a non-profit organisation that specialises in cybersecurity education. The UK government’s plan? To target Britain’s 30 million gamers, who it reckons might have the talents and interests necessary for such a career.

“The big thing missing from bringing talent into the industry was actually engaging the talent where they live, which is in the games world”
Jay Abbott, Cyber Security Challenge UK
“The Cabinet Office is extremely proud to have sponsored the creation of Cyphinx,” says David Raw, deputy director of the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance in the Cabinet. “We believe that Cyphinx is going to deliver huge benefits in providing an innovative, challenging and immersive environment in which to identify the cybersecurity professionals of the future.”

The aim is to foster relationships between talented youngsters and cybersecurity professionals.

“The big thing missing from bringing talent into the industry was actually engaging the talent where they live, which is in the games world,” Jay Abbott, technical director of Cyphinx, tells WIRED. “It’s designed to try and engage people who aren’t even thinking about cybersecurity as a career.”

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