Goal of the Competition The goal of the competition was to create a platform for identifying talented information security specialists, developing the professional community in the Far East, and promoting the field of cybersecurity among young people.
A Historic Event FarEastCTF-2017 became the first interregional CTF competition in the Russian Far East. The initiative was led by the Department of Computer Security at Pacific National University. The organizers set an ambitious task: to create a regional platform that would bring together school students, university students, and young professionals interested in information security. The CTF (Capture The Flag) format was chosen for a reason—it is an international standard for competitions that allows participants to test practical skills in conditions close to real-world scenarios.
Scale of the Event More than 150 applications were submitted for the competition. The final stage featured 17 teams from various regions of the Far East and other parts of Russia.
Format and Challenges The competition was held in the Jeopardy-CTF (task-based) format. Participants solved challenges in the following categories:
- Cryptography
- Steganography
- Web Security
- Reverse Engineering
- Forensics
Prize Fund The total prize fund amounted to 75,000 rubles. In addition to the monetary reward, the winners received valuable prizes from partners and the opportunity to attend the prestigious Positive Hack Days conference.
Results and Significance FarEastCTF-2017 laid the foundation for the development of regular cybersecurity competitions in the Far East. The success of the first tournament demonstrated the demand for such a platform and launched the annual tradition of holding FarEastCTF. The winner was team "Graal" — students from the Faculty of Physics and Technology at the Nevelskoy Maritime State University. The final took place at Pacific National University with the participation of representatives from the IT industry and government authorities.
Organizers Department of Computer Security, Pacific National University (PNU).
Significance FarEastCTF-2017 laid the foundation for an annual tradition of competitions and became the first CTF-format platform in the Russian Far East.
