So, there’s a little more to the Popular Science/DefCon/CTF story. Sure, we played last year. Yeah, we had a good time (a time good enough to write about, apparently). But the nature of the competition left our wheels turning.
Months passed, and our crew found ourselves out for Thai food one evening during this February’s Shmoocon. ShmooCon didn’t attempt to offer a hacking contest on the scale of CTF, and its shorter sprint-style games weren’t popular. We kicked some thoughts around and were soon dedicated to an idea: we were going to run Capture The Flag, the biggest hacking competition in the world. We were going to run it, and we were going to run it better.
For the past several years the venerable Ghetto Hackers, former multi-year CTF champions, have run the challenge. I’ve only had the opportunity to play in one competition run by the Ghetto and it was, by and large, solid. A hacking competition is a hideously complex thing, a tenuous web of puzzles and tricks designed to thwart tricksters who eat puzzles for breakfast. Anyone managing to design a remotely entertaining hacking game deserves merit, and the Ghetto all the more so for taking the burden on multiple years running at considerable expenditure of bytes, sweat, and cash.
The Ghetto, for the above and other circumstances, decided to make way for new blood this year. A call for proposals was made several months ago and we didn’t hesitate. Then we waited, and planned. Oh yes. We planned.
Today it’s official. We, kenshoto, are your hosts for Capture The Flag at DefCon 2005.
We’re putting together a game that will be fresh for longtime players, accessible to first time players, and all around fun. If you’re into pwning stuff I encourage you to sign up, try your hand at the qualifiers, and hopefully join us in Vegas this summer for a great goddamn time. Spread the word, too: not only can teams register, but we’re accepting individuals who want to “lone wolf it” as well.
The next few months are gonna be busy!
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