Capture The Flag 1: Kickoff
November 19, 2020 — 5-8 PM
(Posted on 2020-11-19)Online hacking competition.
Come join us for the kickoff!
What is CTF?
CTF, short for capture-the-flag, is a cybersecurity competition in which participants try to evade security protections on certain exploitable targets to obtain secret information known as flags.
When & Where is the CTF?
Kickoff Day will be on November 19th on the ACM discord at 5pm.
Kickoff Day
The event itself is online, and we'll be doing a kickoff on the ACM discord, where we'll do a gentle introduction to CTF. You don't have to come to be able to compete, but if you're not too familiar with CTFs yet, it'll definitely cover all the basics you need to know before you dive in headfirst. The competition will then run on for the next 24 hours online.
What do I need to play?
You don't need to have any background in computer science or programming to participate in the very first CTF, but we do want you to come with an open mind ready to learn. The competition will be covering topics such as analyzing programs for bugs, reverse engineering, basic web technologies, cyberforensics, cryptographic techniques and more!
Technology-wise, you'll definitely need access to a computer, preferably running some flavor of Linux. For this very first competition, we're not going to put many challenges that absolutely require you to have Linux, but if you don't, consider these options:
- Downloading a VM (virtual machine) running a Linux image. Virtual machines are the most straightforward way to run Linux on a machine that doesn't have it. It also gives the option to interact with the virtual Linux machine using a mouse, which is great for people who aren't too good with a terminal yet.
- Windows Subsystem for Linux (for Windows users). The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL for short) is a feature that comes with newer editions of Windows 10 that hackily runs a Linux "subsystem" within Windows at native speeds. For general cases, this is a good option, but some lower-level programs may crash or cause blue screens.
- Mac (for Mac users). Mac is a UNIX-based operating system, so many scripting technologies play friendly with Mac as well. Note that executables compiled for Linux will not work on Mac, so if you encounter a situation where you need to run a binary executable, you may want to consider a different option.
- CSE Labs. All students under the College of Science and Engineering are given access to the lab computers, which are running Ubuntu. Although you will not have root privileges, it's a great way to run or test scripts. Be mindful of what you run, and remember you are on a public machine!
Other than the environment you use, it's a good idea to have a solid internet connection, and the ability to build or install programs (for which an internet connection is a prerequisite).
Prizes
Not for this event, but a more serious event later in the year will!
Organizers
- todd