Hackers can take a hidden test to become mid-grade officers in the US Army’s Cyber Command

As cyberattacks on the US become commonplace, disorienting, and potentially damaging to the US’s fundamental infrastructure, the US Army’s Cyber Command reached out to civilian hackers in a language they could understand — hidden hacking puzzles online.

In the opening sequence of a Go Army commercial for Cyber Command, green text scrolls on a vacant computer as the narrator details the ominous state of cybercrime today. Viewers who watch closely will find a URL at the bottom of the screen that leads to Recruitahacker.net.

From there, the user can enter rudimentary commands and access a hacking puzzle. Lt. Gen. Paul M. Nakasone told reporters at Defense One’s Tech Summit on Thursday that of the 9.8 million people who viewed the ad online, 800,000 went on to attempt the hacking test. Only 1% passed.

Business Insider attempted the test and failed swiftly.

Read the whole story from Business Insider.

Featured image courtesy of U.S. Army