Abstract
Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions are the most popular events in cybersecurity conferences where participants can demonstrate their skills. Also, the CTF is widely acknowledged as a valuable pedagogical tool for providing the students with real life problems in computer security area when dealing with CTF tasks. However, there is the possibility to go beyond treating CTF tasks only. The paper presents an approach to establish a CTF-based educational framework that allows students to gain more practical skills, knowledge and expertise in information security and related areas. The framework is implemented in Altai State University (Barnaul, Russia) in 2014 as an extracurricular club activity, and the club runs successfully up till now. Pedagogical benefits, learning methodology and educational aspects are discussed, and positive feedback shows the success of the proposed approach.
Highlights
Capture the Flag (CTF) exercises and competitions nowadays are regular and well-known events in various semi-professional information security conferences
Tasks for Jeopardy-type CTFs often deal with various practical aspects of information security like stego, reverse engineering, cryptography, binary analysis, etc
There is a variety of CTF tasks, and each task is linked with a certain area of knowledge, skills, and expertise
Summary
Capture the Flag (CTF) exercises and competitions nowadays are regular and well-known events in various semi-professional information security conferences. Attack-Defense type CTFs require knowledge and experience with developing exploits, using hacking tools and patching vulnerabilities These simulated real-life problems set an extremely high knowledge barrier for CTF participants. Experience and critical skills needed for cybersecurity, such as script programming, system administration, networking, web-programming, besides many others, are often left out of consideration (Cheung, Cohen, Lo, Elia, & Carrillo, 2012) In this case, self-study and peer instruction are the only options left for students, and it requires motivation to learn and practice on their own. The proposed approach allows covering blind spots in students’ knowledge, coordinating the learning process, and utilizing all steps of the CTF for educational purposes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
