MI5 recruiting digital intelligence specialists, but £27k?

The questionnaire to "to assess your suitability for a role" as an "IT Security Exploitation Officer" is actually pretty good.

https://www.mi5.gov.uk/careers/it-security-test-your-knowled...

You enter the following string into an application:

    "AAAAAAAAAAAABBBBCCCCCDDDD"

The program crashes with a message:

    "Access violation executing 0x43434343"

a) This is likely to be an example of what sort of security vulnerability?

b) How might this leave a machine vulnerable to code execution?

c) This appears to relate to the use of the strcpy function. What improvements might you suggest the developer add?

d) Running this application on newer operating system results in different behaviour. Why?

You get what you pay for. How can they expect to get commitment and security on those sort of wages? How can they expect someone to resist a little temptation / extortion when they are paid breadlien wages? It is an insult. The majority of IT workers are unerpaid, but this is ridiculous.

I've often wondered about the sucky pay issue - particularly for those working in London. I can only hope/guess that there are some benefits like subsidised housing that make these roles tenable.

That's pretty standard for postgrad salaries in the UK in the public sector. The various agencies aren't high payers.

You will get pretty much no help from anyone including social or subsidised housing so you'll be stuck in a flat share or a crap rental.

You'll get a worthless pension though.

Go private sector!