The CodeMash CTF (Capture The Flag) is back for 2019…. And it starts 12/27/18!  Yes, you read that right.. This event starts before the conference!

What is this thing all about? A Capture The Flag competition is a a technological puzzle game played online, that requires insight and good research skills to discover the secrets within, capture the flags, and win prizes.  You don’t have to be a security specialist to play. Almost all of the challenges just require a good knowledge of how software, file formats, and the Internet works.

Starting at 6PM December 27th, we will be releasing one challenge a day, every day, at dinnertime, through Thursday of the CodeMash conference.  This will give you the chance to compete, and still enjoy the conference this year!

Head over to https://codemash.hacking-lab.com/ and make your account right now.  Follow @codemashctf on twitter to get updates, hints, and more.  The menu at the top will give you access to the challenges, overall scores, and what flags you have captured.

Only CodeMash attendees can win. The game ends at 3:00pm the last day of the conference, and prizes will be handed out at the closing ceremonies. You must be present to win! If you are not there, your prize will go to the next eligible player in line.  To make sure only CodeMash attendees can win, one of the challenges will be an onsite mission where you have to find and capture the flag inside Kalahari.  Only players who enter this flag will be eligible to win.

If you are having troubles, reach out online!  The goal of this CTF is to help educate you, not trick you. Direct answers will not be provided, of course, but there may be some obvious hints dropped.  Follow @codemashctf on Twitter and keep an eye on the CodeMash Slack channel for #Security. There will also be ample assistance at the conference itself – more info to follow.

A special thanks to Hacking-Lab, and the CodeMash Conference for making this happen! We appreciate the awesome information security community inside this conference.

Any questions, please reach out on twitter @codemashctf or @sempf.  And good luck!

(If you made it this far, there will also be a special challenge at the conference that will have a unique prize for everyone that can solve it, at least while we still have prizes.  Stay tuned. The Hacking Tool Challenge awaits.)