What is a Cybersecurity Capture the Flag?
Cybersecurity competitions are events that have become very popular in the industry. One such event is a “Capture the Flag” (also referred to as CTF) competition, which is available in both online and offline modes in many parts of the world. In this blog, I’ll give you a brief about the CTF competition, and why you need to participate in one.
A Capture the Flag (CTF) challenge is a competition that serves as a learning platform for students, professionals, and anyone interested in cybersecurity. The competition is designed to help improve cybersecurity skills, provide practical learning and networking opportunities for participants.
Capture the Flag Basics
CTF competitions are usually organized by cybersecurity companies or organizations and are often held at professional conferences for cybersecurity.
During these events, players compete in teams to collect as many flags as they can in the given time limit. Each flag has a preassigned point value based on its difficulty. Some competitions allow for all teams to find the flag, while others may be set up so that only the first team to find it gets the points for that particular challenge.
What is a Puzzle?
The term “puzzle” refers to a challenge within the competition. The difference between the low-level ones and the high-level ones is usually the complexity of the skills required to find and retrieve the flag and earn the points.
An example would be something easy like decoding binary codes compared to something difficult like searching a packet stream from a collection of Wireshark capture, getting the file from it, decrypting the same, and then searching the flag hidden inside.
What Are the Different Types of Capture The Flags?
There are majorly two types of Capture The Flags are:
- Jeopardy CTFs
These CTFs involve a set of challenges which are provided by the organisers. Each one is designed in such a way that a small piece of information is revealed on solving it. Once solved, the flag is then submitted to a scoring application in exchange for points. Participants usually receive about 3 days to solve as many challenges as possible.
2. Attack & Defence CTFs
Attack & Defence CTFs are a less common kind of CTF. Here, teams are given the same set of vulnerable server software. Teams are to set up & audit the same before the competition begins. At the start of the competition, teams will connect their devices to an isolated server to join.
Within this server, teams will launch attacks against each other’s servers attempting to exploit the flaws they’ve found. Likewise, teams will need to properly secure their software so that it is safe from these attacks. Teams receive points for extracting and properly securing their flags, and keeping their servers functioning normally.
Why Should You Participate in Capture the Flag Competitions?
Since most CTFs are hosted by companies, there’s a high chance that they might look for talent at competitions like these. Participating in capture-the-flag events like these are a great way to meet new people in the industry, find jobs, and learn about what is new and coming in the industry experts.
Consider that it is impressive to see “won first place” or even “participated in CTF” on your resume, because it shows your interest, involvement and skills in the field.
How to Prepare for Capture the Flag competitions?
Unlike other certifications, CTF competitions are completely practical. To win, you’ve got to gain a strong knowledge and implement it. It’s not as bad or scary as it sounds. Provided you know (or have started learning) the basics, practice will help you learn everything else you need.
There are plenty of great resources with large problem sets available online.
PicoCTF
Many cybersecurity aspirants start with PicoCTF. It’s intended for schoolers. For that reason, it covers the fundamentals very well, provides tons of hints, and reveals puzzles as an interesting storyline. You can’t compete for prizes here, but the lessons are still amazing.
Smash the Stack
Among the most popular CTF sites, Smash the Stack hosts several events to attack systems, networks, and applications. Most of these are online, but they also have regular competitions. Due to its popularity, beginners can go through plenty of details and resources online on various blogs, GitHub and YouTube videos.
Over the Wire
Developed by a strong community of ethical hackers, OverTheWire has competitions for participants of all skill levels. This multi-level game is the perfect place for newbies. With every game on its own SSH port, even connecting to the individual games is a great exercise.
Microcorruption
Though the website is not an aesthetic one, Microcorruption teaches you to exploit actual software bugs. What’s even better is that you can channel your inner Spy with a storyline that involves stealing a briefcase with sensitive data. As they put it, “Should be a piece of cake. All the best”
Google CTF
The Google CTF contains 23 puzzles, and a “Beginners Quest.” These puzzles are available year round, but the team competition only runs for a weekend during the summer. Google provides exciting prizes for the best codes and the most creative solutions.
Note: These are just a few popular examples of CTF challenge sites. To know about more events you can look up :
