Safetech Innovations and “Ștefan cel Mare” University from Suceava, partners in the “Capture the Flag” 2023 competition
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the University “Ștefan cel Mare” Suceava recently organized the eighth edition of the student competition in the field of computer security, CTF-USV 2023 (Capture the Flag), with the support of Safetech Innovations. Running since 2016, this international competition offers students an excellent chance to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the field of cyber security.
With a CTF (Capture The Flag) format, the competition focuses on developing methods to penetrate security barriers in a controlled IT environment. The goal is to discover gaps and identify optimal solutions to protect information against unauthorized access. The competition aims to test the creativity and ability of student teams to use technical knowledge to solve specific cyber security problems.
Safetech is a traditional partner of “Ștefan cel Mare” University, providing technical support, through the development of the technical challenges within the competition, and the logistics necessary for the competition. The infrastructure provided by Safetech consisted in hardware and software for 40 virtual machines, VPN connectivity and a scoring application.
At the same time, Safetech experts created the 7 complex problems in the competition and pre-tested all the scenarios to ensure that they represent real challenges for the participants. During the 24 hours of the competition, Safetech also provided continuous technical support.
With 39 teams, each consisting of four members, representing 16 higher education institutions from 4 different countries, the competition was fierce. 6 teams managed to solve all the tests, and some of them achieved this goal in a remarkably short time – only 6 hours out of the allotted 24 hours.
In the 2023 edition, the teams placed in the first three places were:
- “Alarm Clock Snoozers” – Cluj-Napoca Technical University
- ”Pwnitehnica” – Bucharest Polytechnic
- “Recoons” – Cluj-Napoca Technical University.
For the complete list of participating teams and the scores obtained, go to: https://ctf.usv.ro/documents/2023/final_ranking_2023.pdf .
Professor Alin Dan Potorac (Ph.D. eng. Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science), coordinator of the event, said: “I wish to thank the partners from Safetech Innovations, both from my side and from my colleagues, for the technical effort and logistics done for the CTF-USV 2023. The feedback is positive and we can consider that the action was a success this year as well. In 2023 we had the largest audience of the eight editions, with 39 teams registered. Obviously, the involvement of Safetech Innovations was essential again this year, adding a touch of seriousness and professionalism to the CTF competition.”
The “Capture the Flag” competition, organized by “Ștefan cel Mare” University with the support of Safetech Innovations and Assist Software, stimulates students’ interest in cyber security and evaluates their potential, as future specialists, to face the challenges of a cybersecurity analyst activity.
