NSA's gibberish tweet not what it seems

On May 5, the National Security Agency (NSA) published a bizarre tweet that looked like gibberish, a collection of randomly selected letters.

Of course, this is the NSA, arguably the world's leading spy organization, so it didn't take long for people to realize those seemingly random letters were anything but. They were, in fact, a code.

And not a terribly sophisticated one, it turns out. The message was a relatively simple cipher (substitute one letter for another letter, repeat) that read: "Want to know what it takes to work at NSA? Check back each Monday in May as we explore careers essential to protecting our nation."

So the NSA's Twitter account wasn't hacked by Edward Snowden. In reality, it was sending out a "help wanted" ad, CNN reports.

Agency spokeswoman Marci Green Miller told the network, "NSA is known as the code makers and code breakers." She called the tweet "part of our recruitment efforts to attract the best and the brightest."

The Web is full of tools you can use to create your own secret codes with a few clicks of the mouse. Here's a code we created. If you can solve it, use the information to proceed with Operation: Chunky Duck. The cipher must not fall into the wrong hands. You are likely being followed. We'll meet you at the rendezvous point at 0300.

Sideshow, out.

tnrq cnr tfqb zjmtu cnr phdzhpr cdekx khddfru mjb qmmbjru.

Not cut out to be a spy? Click and scroll over the space below for the answer.

When the wind blows the garbage truck carries old noodles.

Follow Mike Krumboltz on Twitter (@mikekrumboltz).

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