GCHQ, the British counterpart of the NSA, announced Friday a free Android (iOS planned) educational app called Cryptoy, which “enables users to understand basic encryption techniques, learn about their history, and then have a go at creating their own encoded messages.

“These can then be shared with friends via social media or more traditional means and the recipients can use the app to see “how fun it can be to try to break the cryptographic design that someone else thought was secure,” GCHQ said.

CCHG says the app is primarily for use by secondary school students and their teachers, to encourage children to study STEM subjects — science, technology, engineering and math — and build “a knowledge base of cyber security skills.

“It doesn’t require any permissions to access personal data or enhancements to be made to your device when installing.”

Hmmm, maybe Sony execs should download it and have a go at encrypting their future emails?

Video here.