By student Ian Caple
Saturday 24 February saw the birth of a new student-led cyber security initiative, UWE Bristol Capture The Flag Falcons (CTF). Students from across the School of Computer Science came together to participate in a CTF competition. Undergraduate and postgraduate students took part in a range of cybersecurity challenges, from web mining to cryptography, to digital forensics challenges such as hacking veracrypt containers.
In teams of 2 or 3, students worked their way through a series of challenges, hacking their way to exploit vulnerabilities to gain access to areas where they shouldn’t be to find the flags.
In total, 17 students participated, giving the UWE CTF Falcons a great starting point for the future of the Falcons. After an eventful 8 hours during which each team overcame numerous challenges, the CTF challenge was won by The Phishermen – Harvey Keane, Callum Duncan and Ash Floyd, 3rd year BSc Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics students, who captured a a staggering 13 flags out of 15.
But the real winners are everyone who participated and can say they were when the UWE CTF Falcons took flight.
A huge thank you and honorable mention must go to our teaching staff, Alan Mills and Jon White, for helping us meet the challenges and making the day as fun as it was!