← View all posts

How to learn cryptography the easy way with free online games

How to learn cryptography the easy way with free online games

Ever wanted to crack mysterious codes like Alan Turing or send secret messages like Julius Caesar? If so, cryptography could be your next passion!

Discover more about cryptography and how to learn this fascinating skill.

Cryptography is a captivating and mysterious practice that’s helped shape events throughout history. And in today’s digital age, it’s still just as important!

By learning cryptography, you’ll discover how to create and break codes, explore tools and concepts to help crack passwords, find flaws in encrypted information, and see how information travels across the Internet.

Read on to discover how you can start learning cryptography at your own pace with CyberStart.

How to learn cryptography for free with CyberStart

You may be learning cryptography from scratch or perhaps you already have some understanding of the subject and want to deepen your knowledge further.

With CyberStart, you can try cryptography for yourself with hands-on, code-cracking challenges, or delve deeper into the theory to learn more about different methods of encryption and decryption.

Create your free CyberStart account to access fun cryptography challenges plus write-ups and video tutorials.

Learn real cryptography methods with CyberStart’s gamified challenges

It’s time to crack some codes! CyberStart has lots of gamified cryptography challenges for you to solve.

Let’s take a look at a challenge you can play right now!

Intern base L01 C02 - Mixed up Messages

“Mixed up Messages” is the perfect challenge to start on your cryptography learning adventure!

You don’t need any cryptography knowledge to solve this challenge, just an observational eye.

Mixed up text within a fake social media post in one of the CyberStart challenges

Can you figure out what the message says? Register for free in just one minute to play this challenge.

Too easy?

Let’s try a slightly more difficult challenge using a Caeser cipher. The Caesar cipher is one of the oldest forms of cipher and was named after the famous Roman general Julius Caesar, who used cryptography to send military messages.

HQ base L01 C07 - Secret Caesar

In this challenge, you’re investigating a suspicious cyber criminal gang’s documents, which may contain some secret information.

The brief tells us that we should try to use a Caesar cipher to crack the reference numbers. We are looking for a decrypted reference number containing the word BAR.

Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of a Caesar cipher before. The challenge brief tells us that in this type of cipher, the letters are shifted along by a certain offset, e.g. if the letter is A and the offset is two it will become C.

In this challenge, the offset is the order quantity.

Now you know what a Caesar cipher is, see if you can use it to decrypt the secret messages and find the flag.

An order form from the Slootmaekers Bike Factory in a CyberStart challenge

To play this challenge and over 200 more, register for your free CyberStart account, then hit upgrade from the dashboard.

There are plenty more fun cryptography challenges in CyberStart, but perhaps you also want to explore the theory of cryptography too.

Here’s how…

Strengthen your cryptography knowledge with CyberStart’s Field Manual

The Field Manual is created by cyber security experts and works hand-in-hand with CyberStart’s challenges to give you a better understanding of the techniques you learn in-game.

A paused video and some text under the substitution ciphers section of the Field Manual

There’s a whole cryptography chapter in the Field Manual explaining different types of cryptographic methods and how to use them.

Use the Field Manual to impress your friends with your cryptography knowledge and even gain career skills desired in the government and digital forensics field.

Unlock a new passion and learn desirable cryptography skills when you register for your free CyberStart account. Let’s get cracking!

All of these programmes are entirely free, and feature CyberStart!

CyberStart America

What is it?

A fun programme developed to help you discover your talent, advance your skills and win scholarships in cyber security.

Who's it for?

13-18 year old high school students in the US only.

Awesome! How can I find out more?
www.cyberstartamerica.org

Cyber FastTrack

What is it?

The fastest and most cost-effective route to a career in cyber security via free training and exclusive scholarship opportunities.

Who's it for?

College students in the US only.

Great! How can I find out more?
www.cyber-fasttrack.org

CyberStart Canada

What is it?

A free programme teaching cyber security to high school students in Canada through CyberStart's immersive learning platform.

Who's it for?

Students between the ages of 13-18 nationwide.

Nice! How can I find out more?
www.cyberstartcanada.com