COVER STORY

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As the Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ as it is more commonly known, prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its formation next year, there has arguably never been a greater need for the dazzling array of technological skills it possesses to keep our country safe.

Having started life as the Government Code and Cypher School in 1919, it enjoyed what was indisputably its finest hour during the Second World War when, during its Bletchley Park incarnation, it dramatically changed the course of the war by breaking and then accessing the Germans’ difficult Enigma code.

The heroic efforts of the Bletchley Park team, which helped the allies to prevail in the Battle of the Atlantic, are credited with shortening the war by two years.

The modern-day communications service, which plays a crucial role in Britain’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, has come a long way since that golden era.

These days GCHQ is to be found at its state-of-the-art complex at Cheltenham where it is now finds itself in the vanguard of the modern age of cyber warfare. While a veil of secrecy still surrounds much of GCHQ’S activities, it is a fair guess that the organisation is deeply involved in countering the attempts of Russian cyber warriors to disrupt all aspects of life in Britain.

GCHQ has also played a pivotal role in combating the modern curse of Islamistinspired extremism. During the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan it was instrumental in tracking the communications of the enemy, thereby enabling the military to target them with drone strikes or other equally effective actions. More recently the same tools have been employed in the campaign to destroy Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

The organisation’s modern-day operations are, therefore, a far cry from its humble beginnings as a code-breaking outfit, not least because the technology available today would be unimaginable for the original GCHQ pioneers. But while the operational environment has changed beyond recognition, the skill set required to give GCHQ its cutting edge remains very similar.

The primary aim of the challenges we present here, from The GCHQ Puzzle Book II, which date from the Sixties and Seventies and were part of its entrance exam papers, is to test an individual’s ability to analyse a problem, and have the mental agility to work it through.

The technology GCHQ uses may have changed, but the ability to interpret properly the vast amount of data it gathers is as vital to our national security today as it was 100 years ago.

For there is no point gathering intelligence unless you have the imagination and mental agility to make sense of it.