Boards.ie hacktacular

LoLth

Picking up on a suggestion made by Dlofnep in the forum suggestion thread (which you can find HERE by the way, drop by and give your 2 cents)

posted by dlofnep:

I was actually thinking about getting a discussion going about boards.ie's security forum hosting a security event - perhaps with some talks, and a few beers and a capture the flag event. I think if we could advertise it enough, we might get a good few willing participants. Nothing too formal - just enough to keep it serious, but also informal enough that everyone from beginner to expert feels welcome and can learn or offer something.

Now, this got me thinking. Dont laugh! it does happen sometimes. Conventions, especially ones involving lots of expensive equipment and room and stuff, can be expensive to run and difficult to organise. Sooooo, instead of breaking into a sprint, perhaps we should take a few tentative steps first.

And so, it is with great trepidation that I present the possibility of the Boards.ie Hacktacular!

Currently we have posters that very kindly create and host hacking challenges, from basic cryptography challenges to fully fledged web app penetration, but we can have two challenges running simultaneously or have none for a few months, also there are others that might like to present a challenge but there's no framework to help them do this.

This is still in the drawing board phase so bear with me.....

step 1: we set a deadline for posters to have challenges prepared and we issue the rules and regulations.... oh wait...

ok step 1. we make up some rules
step 2: we lay out the framework
step 3: we notify the masses about the closing date for challenge suggestions
step 4: we organise hosting of challenges for those that cannot host them themselves
step 5: we run a league table alongside the challenges (possibly with a self rating of beginner - hobbyist - professional handicap system of some sort?)

at the end of the "season" we have winner and losers ahem, I mean "most not winningest of them all" on each league table.

first place gets a prize (dont get excited! I'm looking at my coffee stirrer right now and wondering if a smiley face would make it "unique" enough to be memorable)

first place on each table swaps places with last place on the table above if they have a higher point total that the last place on the upper table incentive!

This way, we try to have one challenge always available to posters to poke at. Maybe a two week challenge time + 1 week discussion + 1 week break for practise and quiet reflection.. so one challenge a month ?

Once a challenge finishes, the top of each league post their method for the rest to worship and adore and then we open it for discussion so the rest of the players get to share their experiences or ask questions about why X and not Y was done. I was also thinking of a "no hints/tips" rule for the first few days at least and then a controlled release of information afterwards.

anyway, this is still pretty much just a random thought that fell out of my fingers so I would be looking for a good bit of help setting up and organising to make it as much fun as possible while still appealing to the competitve peeps out there and being a good source of practise and education for the more relaxed among us. perhaps a security beer to discuss this and other suggestions might be an idea after all

Procasinator

I like the idea, but feel it has a limited length of time to stay interesting.

The thing with challenges is most have been done before, just with variations. The variations keep it interesting. However, eventually convoluted highly unlikely in the wild type challenges start to appear.

The other problem is as people progress, the challenges have to get harder, and as they get harder, they require more work to make.

In closing, I think all the points besides 3. are a good and achievable idea. I just don't know if a regular and sustainable schedule will work. I suppose there is only one way to find out, though.

It would also be great if someone could volunteer hosting of VMs for challenges.

dlofnep

I'd be on board for assisting or developing challenges. I think the challenges have kept alot of interest going in this forum for the past few months.

I'd ideally at some point in the year like to see some sort of meetup. Whether it be a small convention, or something more informal. I'm open to helping!

Perhaps we could enter a team into this year's HackÉire?

Phractal

This could be very fun, esp. if we run virtual networks of a bunch of various boxes... To appeal to the remote exploit guys as well as those web app blokes!