Hackers of the World Unite

Vienna University of Technology Wins UCSB Hacking
Competition

The 2006 installment of UCSB’s International Capture the Flag
competition ended on Fri., Dec. 8. “We 0wn Y0u,” the entrants
from the Vienna University of Technology, took first place. For the
uninitiated, this Capture the Flag tournament — often abbreviated
as iCTF — differs from the usual summer camp variety. It pits teams
of hackers, representing various schools or universities, in
“wide-area security exercise” which ends when one team finds the
flag. While hunting for this digital goal, contestants must work to
secure vulnerabilities on their own team’s server while
simultaneously trying to exploit the security weaknesses of their
opponents.

This year’s six-hour competition proved to be the largest UCSB
has hosted yet: In addition to 15 teams representing American
schools, hackers from Germany, Austria, Italia, Russia and
Australia also participated. Each team participates in a site local
to their school. This quality distinguishes iCTF from other hacking
competitions, which usually necessitate entrants to be in the same
physical location. This year’s competition marks the fifth
anniversary of iCIF, which is loosely based on the Capture the Flag
competition held at the Def Con hacker convention held annually in
Las Vegas.

The UCSB team came in first place in last year’s iCIF
competition.