It wasn't super difficult, and was quite fun. I'm not a cryptography person and have zero knowledge of ciphers or anything like this, but a friend and I saw it and thought it'd be fun to give it a shot. We shared ideas but pretty much solved each puzzle ourselves in different ways (which was interesting to see in itself).
The hidden 5th puzzle was both the hardest to get going on (due to no hints compared to the others), while also being among the easiest once you figured out what it actually was.
I did a little write-up here if anyone's interested: http://senwerks.com/hacktheplanet/Solving-the-Australian-Sig...
They really would like for us not to think its being solved by a 14 y.o. the same morning is a debacle. But it is.
> She also revealed today that there was a fifth level of encryption on the coin which no one had broken yet.
Now, how believable is that?
ASD - 75th Anniversary Commemorative Coin : https://www.asd.gov.au/75th-anniversary/events/2022-09-01-75...
70th Anniversary of ASIO – Marked with New 50-Cent Coin by Royal Australian Mint : https://www.ramint.gov.au/publications/70th-anniversary-asio...
Hat's off to whoever came up with the idea of materialized cryptocoin clickbait. Well done!
So the first three layers can be solved with pen and paper, and for the fourth you might need a computer.
Do we still consider that encryption in this day and age? I know it technically is , but..
How do you learn this stuff? When I turned 14, I could not imagine even making a successful website, that could withstand hackers and DDoS.
Just like the porn filter the Australian government tried to implement...
... or maybe they were 15 at the time, can't remember
I live in the UK but have family in Australia - I can imagine there’s no privacy there either but I was wondering what the law is?
In the UK it’s one month of all our private communications thanks to the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.
What is it in Australia?
Edward Snowden's revelations included the detail that back in 2008, the then-DSD sought to /give away/ bulk data on australian citizens to foreign spy agencies.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/business-spectator...
In response to the revelations of this attack on Australian democracy, launched by an agency tasked to defend it, australia's attorney general focused on declaring Mr Snowden a traitor.
> those who crack the codes could discover "some wonderful, uplifting messages".
Let’s hope that one of them was, “Australia should be a republic”
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It's funny to see a coin like this minted considering the Australian government's position on encryption and privacy (well, not just Australia - pretty much any other Commonwealth country too).