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Follow our live blog Get breaking news alerts directly to your phone with our app Australian Signals Directorate 50-cent coin code cracked by Tasmanian 14yo in 'just over an hour' By Dan Smith Posted 15h ago15 hours agoFri 2 Sep 2022 at 7:13am, updated 8h ago8 hours agoFri 2 Sep 2022 at 2:23pm A silver coin with many small letters and numbers arranged on it. The coin was available for purchase from the Royal Australian Mint.( Supplied: Royal Australian Mint) Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article abc.net.au/news/asd-50-cent-code-cracked-by-14yo-tasmanian-boy/ 101401978 Copy linkShare A 14-year-old boy has cracked four levels of code imprinted on a commemorative 50-cent coin released by the nation's foreign intelligence cybersecurity agency. Key points: * ASD director-general Rachel Noble said the 14-year-old cracked the encryption in just over an hour * She said the agency hoped to meet him "and recruit him" * She also said there was a secret fifth level of encryption on the coin which no one had broken yet The limited-edition commemorative coin was released on Thursday to mark the 75th anniversary of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), with only 50,000 minted for the occasion. The ASD said the coin's four different layers of encryption were each progressively harder to solve, and clues could be found on both sides -- but ASD director-general Rachel Noble said in a speech at the Lowy Institute on Friday that the 14-year-old managed it in just over an hour. "There's a challenge out there to see who can correctly break all the layers, and, would you believe it, yesterday the coin was launched at 8:45am; we put up our web form and said, 'Hey, if you think you've got the answers, fill in the form'," she said. "And believe it or not, a boy, 14 years old in Tasmania, was the first person in just over an hour to get all four layers right. "Just unbelievable. Can you imagine being his mum? "So we're hoping to meet him soon ... to recruit him." A man and a woman, both in suits, smile at the camera, standing in front of a very large 50-cent coin. Ms Noble and Royal Australian Mint chief executive Leigh Gordon launched the coin on Thursday.(ABC News: Mark Moore) A fifth level of encryption Ms Noble yesterday said the coin celebrated the work of the agency's members and the evolution of code-breaking, and that those who crack the codes could be "pretty well placed" to get a job at the ASD. "We thought this was a really fun way to engage people in code-breaking with the hope that, if they make it through all four levels of coding on the coin, maybe they'll apply for a job at the Australian Signals Directorate." A silver, 50-centre Australian coin, with the Queen's head. Both sides of the coin contain parts of ASD's encrypted puzzle.( Supplied: Royal Australian Mint) Ms Noble said that while there were no classified messages on the coin, those who crack the codes could discover "some wonderful, uplifting messages". "Like the early code breakers in ASD, you can get through some of the layers with but a pencil and paper but, right towards the end, you may need a computer to solve the last level." She also revealed on Friday that there was a fifth level of encryption on the coin which no one had broken yet. Want more Tasmanian news? Set the ABC News website or the app to "Tasmania Top Stories" from either the homepage or the settings menu in the app to continue getting the same national news but with a sprinkle of more relevant state stories. Here's a taste of the latest stories from Tasmania: * Vanessa's GP is closing and she can't even get on a waiting list for a new one * 'When you're in your room, you don't matter': Detainee's plea from inside Tasmania's troubled youth prison * How Hobart plans to cope with 60,000 more people in the next 30 years * Repairing Tasmania's parliament workplace culture 'not the job of politicians' Posted 15h ago15 hours agoFri 2 Sep 2022 at 7:13am, updated 8h ago8 hours agoFri 2 Sep 2022 at 2:23pm Share * Copy link * Facebook * Twitter * Related Stories * If you can crack the code on this 50c coin, a government agency wants to hear from you A silver coin with many small letters and numbers arranged on it. 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The cover is blue, with drug paraphernalia and GO ASK ALICE - ANONYMOUS written on the front Top Stories Royal commission hears SRS residents 'hungry, cold and living in unhygienic conditions' Empty cups and cigarette butts strew the floor of a bedroom, with a bare dirty mattress and a bedside table covered with filth. Abused by their coach Ian King and abandoned by cricket, Matthew Rose and his teammates are now fighting back A man sits in a dark room with his wide brimmed cricket hat on his knee. analysis Australia's economic tectonic plates are shifting -- and this week might be a fork in the road Chalmers raises a finger and points at media, an out of focus camera visible at the edge, standing in front of a blue curtain. live Aussie Tomljanovic trying to end Serena's career at US Open Composite image of Serena Williams and Ajla Tomljanovic both clenches their fists and looking intense at the US Open. 'It's more peaceful': Despite warnings from friends, Krishna and David drove an electric car across Australia. Twice A white electric vehicle facing an old, abandoned car on the Nullarbor Plains FBI found more than 11,000 government records at Trump's Florida home, unsealed records show Donald Trump wearing a blue suit and red tie walks to a car with his hair blowing in the wind. Russia scraps Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline reopening, stoking European fuel fears Oil drill and well head. Australia's COVID winter wave has eased. Here's how households are managing as spring arrives A group of pedestrians walking along a footpath by the Yarra River on a sunny day. analysis 'Grace Tame has a very thin skin': I nearly deleted the text, but then came the kicker A woman standing outside. 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