It's not required, but writing code to solve this problem would be a good way to get our attention. For more information on the crypto challenges, visit http://www.matasano.com/articles/crypto-challenges/
If you've only seen the first set of our crypto challenges (you have to finish the first 8 problems before you get the next set), and you're wondering what the remaining 56 (soon to be 64) problems are like, the crypto challenge Sean just posted is much more representative of the whole than anything in set 1.
We use set 1 primarily to weed out people who aren't serious about writing code.
If I've submitted solutions (or what I thought was solutions...) for the first 8 problems, and I don't hear back, does that mean I need to keep working on it? I did submit code.
We're extremely backed up, mostly because of Mail 7. We'll clear out the backlog this weekend, and, moving forward, we're sending challenges out 2 sets at a time.
I'm working on that one right now. My solution will work but it seems very slow and painstaking - is there an insight I'm missing that will make for a more elegant algorithm?
We test software for vulnerabilities.
Sorry, that's too clinical - the reality is that we torture and flay software, twisting it to serve our nefarious ends.
If that sounds like fun, consider applying.
NO PRIOR APPSEC EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED. Just a keen technical acumen and a thirst for blood.
Perks: crazy-smart coworkers, health benefits, free books, etc. For more information, visit http://www.matasano.com/careers/
FEED YOUR HEAD:
As a bonus, try your hand at this problem from our never-before-published set of crypto challenges: https://gist.github.com/sdevlin/52e1d8898bda7ad35567
It's not required, but writing code to solve this problem would be a good way to get our attention. For more information on the crypto challenges, visit http://www.matasano.com/articles/crypto-challenges/