On Saturday, October 24th, 2020, MetaCTF will host it's 6th annual virtual, jeopardy-style CTF! This event is free and open to everyone. Participants can compete in teams of up to 4, with separate scoreboards for students and non-students.

This CTF will challenge and encourage participants to learn new techniques and concepts related to cybersecurity, with problems covering topics such as web exploitation, cryptography, binary exploitation, reverse engineering, forensics, and reconnaissance.

Throughout the CTF, we will be livestreaming a series of talks, problem walkthroughs, and sessions with well-known cybersecurity professionals! Participants will have opportunities to network with sponsors and recruiters.

Never done a CTF? No problem! This event does not require any previous cybersecurity experience, and CTFs are a great way to get started in cybersecurity. While there will still be plenty of hard problems for those looking for a challenge, the goal is for you to walk away with some new techniques and skills.

Prizes? Yes! Top 5 student and non-student teams will receive the following prizes (per team).

• 1st place: $1,000
• 2nd place: $750
• 3rd place: $500
• 4th place: $200
• 5th place: $200

Top 30 teams in each tier will also receive swag bags and T-shirts. Please note that we will not be able to ship swag and prizes to participants outside the United States.

Interested in sponsoring? We are looking for sponsors wishing to recruit tech talent or promote their product/services. For more information, email sponsor@metactf.com.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is a CTF?

A Capture-the-Flag event is a cybersecurity competition that is designed to teach and test a variety of different computer skills. There are different types of CTFs, but ours is jeopardy-style. Your goal as a competitor will be to solve solve a variety of security-related tasks by analyzing provided materials (a log file, an encrypted message) or breaking into a vulnerable application (an simulated online banking app). The goal of a competition like this is to learn, so you're expected to research and use the internet during the competition to figure out how to solve the challenges.

What is a flag?

The goal of each CTF problem is to find a "flag," which is a string of text that you can submit for points. For example, flags can be obtained by cracking a cipher, hacking into a vulnerable website, or otherwise solving a specific challenge. Each challenge will provide you with the information you need to get started.

Don't have a team?

You should still participate even if you can't find a team! We'll have a Discord bot to help you find teams.

Help!! I don't know any cybersecurity stuff.

Whether you're a student interested in the field or an adult thinking about changing careers, this is a great opportunity to explore the cybersecurity field, learn new skills, and compete for prizes. The event will also include a livestream with talks, problem walkthroughs, tutorials, and career advice from industry professionals. Participants will also have the opportunity to network with others in the security community. No experience is required!

How can I practice?

Stay tuned! We're planning to release a few challenges from our previous events that you can use as practice! In the meantime, you also visit https://play.picoctf.org/ to try out some other CTF challenges.

Will there be any hard challenges?

Yes! Even though our CTF is aimed at introducing participants to cybersecurity, we'll still have plenty of difficult problems for those looking for a challenge.

Can a team have students from multiple schools?

Yes! You can also have students and non-students in the same team as well, though you'll be placed in the non-student tier if you do. Top placing student teams will have to provide verification of enrollment before being eligible to receive prizes.

How do I register?

You can use this link to start the registration. It's a two-step process.

First, you'll need to create a MetaCTF account on this website. Second, you need to sign-up for the CyberGames event using the link above or pressing "Sign Up" next to the event on the dashboard. The demographics information is optional, but you'll be able to update it after registering.

If you're looking to work in teams, the first person on the team will need to create it and share the "join code" with others. Teams can be changed after registration.

Sponsors:

Tony Sena (Judo ~ Def Con Goon)

Bonita Best