Welcome to UTCTF
A CTF by UT ISSS
March 29, 2024, 6 PM CDT - March 31, 2024, 6 PM CDT
subscribe to the mailing list for updates
join the discord
view the event on CTFtime
For additional contest or sponsorship information, please contact us at contact@isss.io.
What is a CTF?
A CTF, or "Capture the Flag" competition, is a type of computer security contest. Strings of text, referred to as "flags," are hidden or encrypted in a series of challenges. During the competition, participants try to decrypt, hack, reverse-engineer, or exploit the challenges in order to gain access to the flag. For each flag retrieved, the team gets a certain number of points, and teams with the most points win.
How will UTCTF be run?
UTCTF is an educational CTF that will consist of various problems related to computer and network security. This CTF will use dynamic scoring, meaning that points for a problem automatically adjust based on solve count. These adjustments retroactively apply to all solves, solving a problem early does not result in a higher score than solving the problem later. The categories will include Binary Exploitation, Networking, Reverse Engineering, Cryptography, Web, and more. Some problems can be solved in a matter of minutes, while others may take hours. The source code and problem solutions will be released after the competition has ended.
Who can compete? Who can win prizes?
The contest will be open to anyone around the world, but only teams that have an address within the United States will be eligible for prizes. There is no limit to team sizes, but we will only be shipping enough prizes for 4 people for each winning team. Team members do not need to be from the same location; however, prizes will only be shipped to one location.
The first place team will win $200, second place will win $160, and third place will win $120 worth of prizes. Additionally, the first place team from UT Austin will win $120 worth of prizes (requires in-person verification with ISSS officers).
When?
6 PM CDT on March 29th, to 6 PM CDT on March 31st, 2024.
Where?
The competition will be completely free, and run entirely online - the only materials teams will need are a working computer with internet access and the ability to run desktop applications. Competitors should register online to form a team - registration will be opened soon, and can be done at any point before or during the contest. If you are a UT student feel free to come to our kickoff March 29th from 6 PM to 9 PM in GDC 2.216--food will be provided!
How will the writeup contest work?
Writeup submissions will be accepted for 48 hours following the CTF. The ISSS officer team will judge the writeups, and award three writeups $50 worth of prizes each. Writeup categories TBA.
What is allowed?
- Competitors can use search engines, Wikipedia, GitHub, books, etc. to try to solve the challenges.
- If they get stuck (or something is wrong with the challenge), competitors can ask the challenge authors for a hint, but this hint will be shared publicly on the Discord in the interest of fairness.
- Competitors can ask other competitors for small hints.
What is not allowed?
- Sharing of flags or explicit solutions is not allowed.
- Competitors are not allowed to directly attack UTCTF infrastructure or use tools that would overwhelm the infrastructure. This includes tools like dirbuster, ffuf, and other high-volume scanning/fuzzing tools.
- Attacking or exploiting the server, other teams, or machines not explicitly designated as targets within the problems is against the rules. This includes both breaking into such machines and denying others access to them (for example, by altering a key or ping-flooding).
- Engaging in any of these activities will result in your team being disqualified.
Who is running UTCTF?
UTCTF is being run by students at The University of Texas at Austin within the Information & Systems Security Society (ISSS).
Who is sponsoring UTCTF?
ISSS is grateful for our sponsors. We would not be able to host UTCTF without their support:
- Raytheon CODEX (Gold)
- Cisco Systems (Gold)
- Sandia National Laboratories (Gold)
- Praetorian (Silver)
- Accenture (Bronze)
- CrowdStrike (Event)