More than 200 applications for CTF participation
For the third time in a row, our Capture the Flag event took place on 12 October 2024 - this time under the motto "House of Flags". Together with our partners IBM, Bechtle and CGI, we at Laokoon Security once again organised the largest on-site hacker competition in Germany. We selected 120 hackers from over 200 applications, who put their skills to the test in teams of up to four people.
"It's a tradition for the third time," said organiser Moritz Samrock from Laokoon Security at the start of the event. To the delight of all participants, he announced that another CTF will take place in 2025. The motto of this year's CTF, "House of Flags", is based on the successful series "House of Money" and alludes to the meaning of the expression "Capture the Flag".
From 12 noon to 6 p.m., the CTF participants tackled the 20 tasks set in the IBM Garage for Defence. "We deliberately chose different levels of difficulty to make the challenge interesting for both professionals and rookies and to facilitate dialogue," explained Moritz Samrock.
Close neck-and-neck race
From cryptography, web hacking, PWN and reverse engineering to forensics, hardware and OSINT, the "House of Flags" event covered a variety of areas that are part of a classic Jeopardy CTF. In the end, the "OCO" team from the public sector came out on top with 19 out of 20 solved tasks and 10,550 points - just ahead of the FluxFingers from Ruhr University Bochum with 18 solved tasks and 9,675 points. The winners were delighted to receive vouchers from Hack The Box and the SANS Institute.
Relaxed exchange over pizza and drinks
"Events like this are crucial for promoting the best talents and giving them the opportunity to compete with each other," summarised Moritz Samrock at the award ceremony. After all, the focus at Germany's largest onsite CTF is not only on solving the challenges, but also on exchanging experiences with each other. There was plenty of opportunity for this after the award ceremony: over pizza and drinks, the participants were able to chat to other teams and discuss the challenges.
Registration for Capture the Flag 2025
The organisers' declared aim is to hold a CTF again next year. "Our survey after the event showed that the participants would attend the event again and recommend it to others," says Moritz Samrock. If you don't want to miss the start of the application process for the CTF 2025, follow Laokoon Security on LinkedIn - where we will always keep you up to date.
By the way: We regularly give our employees the opportunity to Participation in competitions and Capture The Flag events as part of their working hours. Here you can find out more.