NUS Greyhats and NCL successfully hosted the GreyHats Capture the Flag competition

11 Aug 2023 — The GreyHats Capture the Flag (CTF) 2023 competition was successfully held from 15 to 16 July at NUS COM3 Multipurpose Hall. This is a competition jointly organised by NUS Greyhats, an information security student interest group and National Cybersecurity R&D lab (NCL), a research lab dedicated to the advancement of cybersecurity in the Singapore ecosystem.

CTF is an annual competition where local and international participants compete to solve a variety of exercises ranging from basic programming to server hacking exercises. The main objective of the exercise is to “capture” a specific string of text hidden in a server or behind a webpage.

The exercises mimic real-life scenarios so students not only get to hone their skills but also acquire relevant industry knowledge about the cybersecurity field. Additionally, competing with international students enhances the visibility of Greyhats and NCL on the international stage, presenting an excellent opportunity for future collaboration.

Before this physical competition, 454 teams of 1677 participants competed in a virtual competition which was opened to the public for registration. It was held for 48 hours between 19 to 21 May. Out of these 454 teams, only the top 15 teams of 90 participants were then invited to join the in-person finals between 15 to 16 July. These are participants who are very active in the CTF community, ranging from high school students, university students and to even industry professionals.

After two intense days, three teams emerged victorious.

no rev/pwn no life, a team from China won First Place and a cash prize of SGD 6000.

DiceGang, a team from the United States of America (USA) won Second Place and a cash prize of SGD 4200.

Social Engineering Experts, a team from Singapore won Third Place and a cash prize of SGD 2400.

The competition was generously sponsored by Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), The Digital and Intelligence Service, and Bakkhos Labs.

Visit NCL Blog to learn more about the competition.