Hey everyone, welcome back to another exciting CTF adventure! This time, we’re diving into the mysterious world of Bigfoot. That’s right — our mission involves the elusive Bigfoot, and the joorney is on to unravel this Bigfoot’s tale. Let’s jump right in!
Briefing
Greetings Special Agent.
After starting our collaboration with Klumgongyn and his species, a lot of the earth’s mysteries have started to clear up. Not being able to share these with the rest of the world but, suffice to say, a lot of sci-fi movies aren’t that far off from reality. One of such interesting topics is the existence of Bigfoot, or Sasquatch as it the more formal term. These creatures roam the interiors of the American heartland and reach far up north. For several decades, people have had run-ins and sightings with these creatures. Originally, Sasquatches evolved next to their human counterparts. But after eventually growing apart, due to our new found aversion to the discomfort of sleeping on the forest floor, they’ve taken refuge in the most rugged parts of the American wilderness. While we eventually opted for sleeping in home-delivered Swedish furniture.
As Klumgongyn now taught us, the Klumgon have been using Sasquatches to keep an eye on human behavior over the past decades. Instructing the beasts to probe human civilization for our reaction to a strange and foreign species. Needless to say, the results are still very negative. The best theory would have humans shoot the alien being and cut it’s guts open. Therefor only a select group of humans know about the existence of the Klumgon and Sasquatch. Now that we got that introduction out of the way… During the 1970’s, a Sasquatch was spotted by a member of the US Armed forces. Initially reported as “Driver has close sighting of Bigfoot”. While heading home from a late night diner, the soldier spotted the Sasquatch crossing the road late at night. After this sighting, the Sasquatch was never seen again. Even disappearing to it’s Klumgon handlers. This particular Sasquatch was named “Norman” by it’s handlers. What made Norman special, was the ability to turn his nocturnal vision on and off.
A genetic abnormality for the otherwise nocturnal Sasquatch. The Klumgon needed Norman to reverse engineer this ability, to implement in a piece of biotech for their “Future Soldier of 2030” government program. Needless to say, given our current collaboration, that would be a very useful piece of bio-tech. Not having to rely on clunky and limited NVG’s, but a simple set of new eyes and a microchip instead. So, I leave you with your assignment. Find the article where this particular soldier describes the incident. This will be the starting point for our investigation. All we know, is that the article is published by someone else, chronicling the story shared by the soldier.
As always, Special Agent, the contract is yours, if you choose to accept.
The challenge starts with an intriguing backstory, setting the mood for the hunt. We’re taken back to the 1970s, where a U.S. military driver reported a jaw-dropping encounter with the mythical creature. The story was reported as:Driver Has Close Sighting of Bigfoot.
There is also a curious mention of the “Future Soldier of 2030.” At first, it seems unrelated, but the real key lies in unraveling the Bigfoot tale, particularly the report title.
The Investigation: Cracking the Mystery
Here’s where the fun begins — this challenge is all about Google Dorking. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s essentially using clever search strings to find specific information online. If you’d like to brush up on your dorking skills, I recommend this fantastic Google Dorking Basics Guide.
Fisr thing I did was a basic google dork that is “Driver Has Close Sighting of Bigfoot” and the search results delivered some intriguing leads. Among them was a website called The Crypto Crew, which specializes in stories of Bigfoots and mysterious encounters.One link stood out:
Driver Has Close Sighting of Bigfoot.
Upon clicking, the page contained the exact details referenced in the challenge briefing. I had a hunch this was the key, and copying the URL ie, https://www.thecryptocrew.com/2014/06/driver-has-close-sighting-of-bigfoot.html as the flag confirmed it. Challenge complete!
Why This Challenge Was a Blast
This CTF may seem simple at first glance, but it’s a perfect example of how small details can lead to big discoveries. I loved how the story tied into Bigfoot lore while helping players to refresh or learn more about basic yet powerful techniques like Google Dorking.
The mention of the “Future Soldier of 2030” added another pivoting point, though it turned out to be a mislead. The real work lay in following the breadcrumbs of Bigfoot’s tale and piecing together the story.
Final Thoughts
This was an easy yet fun one to solve — a little dorking, a lot of fun, and the perfect way to sharpen/learn your basic Google skills. I hope you had as much fun reading about this Bigfoot chase as I did solving it.
If you’re eager for more challenges like this, head over to Hacktoria for a lot of mind-bending evn insane puzzles and thrilling mysteries. Don’t forget to share your solutions or questions with me on X or Discord @IntelBadger — I’d love to hear your stories!
Until next time, happy hunting! 🕵️♂️👣
