Security Capture the Flag
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Put Your Skills to the Test
Join host Dean Bushmiller for a friendly, fun, and informative learning experience. This Jeopardy-style Capture the Flag will stretch all your penetration testing skills, from reconnaissance to exploitation, and give you a chance to compete with peers. Prepare to sharpen your skills regardless of your current level of expertise. Here's the scoop: You’ll tackle a series of engaging security challenges to uncover "flags"—hidden artifacts that reveal their progress. You'll navigate a comprehensive penetration testing process to find these elusive flags. Each flag corresponds to a different level of difficulty, and you'll earn points based on the complexity of the operation you’ve successfully executed. The more challenging the task, the higher your score!
The individual with the most points at the end of the event claims victory, earning not only bragging rights, but also a certificate and an impressive addition to their résumé. Plus, it's a fantastic opportunity to practice hacking in a secure and supportive environment while connecting with fellow cybersecurity enthusiasts. Join us for this dynamic event where you can test your skills, learn new techniques, and perhaps even discover a few tricks of the trade.
Not ready to compete but want to be part of the action?
Register for the event and join us to see how Capture the Flag works and watch participants successfully solve common security problems.
What you’ll learn and how you can apply it
- Gain hands-on experience and skills by tackling real-world security challenges
- Sharpen critical thinking and problem-solving abilities by solving challenging security-related tasks
- Translate theoretical concepts into actionable solutions for real-world scenarios
This live event is for you because...
- You’re looking to practice your penetration testing skills in a live environment.
- You enjoy the excitement and pressure of a competition.
- You want to experience a dynamic and fun security learning environment.
- You’re a security professional who experiences debugging challenges on the job and you want to see how others solve these challenges.
Prerequisites
- A personal (paid) AWS account (refer to the setup instructions below prior to the event)
- An understanding of penetration testing processes
- Familiarity with the use of hashing tools on images
- Familiarity with Metasploit
- A firm understanding of Kali Linux
Setup
- Read the event setup instructions here AWS Lab Environment Deployment Guide
- Watch the 9-minute video of lab setup and tear down
Schedule
The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, at 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET
Phase 1 (30 minutes)
- Reconnaissance
Phase 2 (3 hours, 20 minutes)
- The game
Conclusion (10 minutes)
- Computing of points; winners and times posted
Your Host
Dean Bushmiller
Dean Bushmiller consults on cybersecurity, incident response, and penetration testing and is using AI to build and secure learning platforms. He’s been teaching cybersecurity since 1999, has over 1,000 hours of recorded cybersecurity training, and a lifetime instructor approval rating of over 90%. He has also achieved more than 36 major cybersecurity certifications and passed over 100 certification exams.
Dean built the full library of NICE framework knowledge statements, which includes over 600 basic, intermediate, and advanced cybersecurity topics in an easy one-hour online format. Though he’s not a member of the military, he has had the honor to train the US military since 1999. In recognition for outstanding service in the information assurance field, he has received eight mission coins.