Do you think you could make a good spy? The Australian Mint will put your skills to the ultimate test.
This 50 cent coin that is covered in secret code has been released to acknowledge the 75th anniversary of the Australian Signals Directorate who are responsible for signals intelligence, cyber warfare and cyber security.
The ASD collaborated with the Royal Australian Mint to design the cryptic coin, which has four layers of code which are all unique and if broken they contain special messages about ASD. Each code can be solved only if Australians are in possession of of the coins.
“ASD has a long history that all Australians can be proud of, helping to protect the nation from foreign threats, and keeping us safer by preventing and disrupting online threats including cyber criminals,” said Rachel Noble PSM, ASD’s Director-General.
“This exciting coin release challenges Australians to engage with the sorts of problem-solving that our talented people at ASD do every day, and might even be a pointer to a new career with us for those who can crack it.”
Royal Australian Mint CEO Leigh Gordon said developing the coin was a complex task as it was critical each different code was clearly identifiable.
“While the 50 cent piece is Australia’s biggest coin, it still doesn’t have a lot of surface area,” said Mr Gordon. “Ensuring people could see the code to decrypt it was one of the challenges our people were able to solve with ASD, to create a unique and special product.”
“Though some coding for the coin originated with the Roman Empire, there is remarkably still a place for them in modern intelligence,” said Ms Noble. “I am immensely impressed of the people who work at ASD and this coin celebrates their work, as well as giving all Australians a glimpse of our history of protecting the nation from harm.”
Image Supplied (Royal Australian Mint)
