Hamiltr0n III - The Shadow over Hamiltr0n



0x00: BRIEF

Welcome to the Department of Paranormal Affairs, where nothing is as it seems.

There's always work to be done in the department, Hamiltr0n has always been a city full of secrets and menaces. Skilled investigators are often scarce and often do not return from their assignments.

It doesn't help that there's been an increase in strange activities - Unscheduled UFO sightings, chemtrails in the sky spelling out the winning l0tt0 ticket numbers, and nobody knows where exactly the amorphous ziggurat on Victoria street came from, or what kind of horrors lie within it. It just appeared there one day without any warning.

To address the ever growing workload, you have been hired as a contractor to assist with some of the tasks.  Here you may find yourself solving the cases on file, gleaming for nuggets of insight from what we've heard in the wind and on the wire. And for the brave or the foolish, you may leave your mark upon the blank pages in the unwritten history of Hamiltr0n, where the unbelievable, the unspeakable, and the unknown are recorded.

With mirth,

Department of Paranormal Affairs, Hamiltr0n City Council

PS. Please refrain from feeding the fish people in the Waikatr0n river, they will get sick and die.



0x01: INFO

Hamiltr0n III is the sequel to Hamiltr0n::NO CARRIER held at Kiwicon 8 and Hamiltr0n II::AT+CTFR=”29237” held at Kiwicon 9.
As with the previous editions, Hamiltr0n III is a jeopardy style CTF, featuring a wide variety of flags, aimed at all skill levels (from the "I've-never-hacked-anything-in-my-life" through to those players itching to get uid 0 across the game).

Haven't heard of CTF (Capture The Flag) before? No problem. CTF is a game that tests the hacking ability of it's players. While there's a few different types of CTF, in a jeopardy CTF players solve tasks across a range of categories, scoring each time they solve a certain challenge; “capturing” a flag (e.g. exploiting a vulnerable program to gain access to a server).

Hamiltr0n III will include flags across a number of categories, including:

  • Cryptography
  • Exploitation
  • Forensics
  • Networking
  • Phreaking
  • Reverse Engineering
  • Trivia
  • Web Applications

As with the previous incarnations of Hamiltr0n, players can play in teams, or individually (in a team of one).



0x02: PRIZES

As with previous Hamiltr0ns, sponsorship is generously being provided by Insomnia Security.



0x03: REQUIREMENTS

  • Bring along your laptop of choice; connectivity will be available via ethernet, and WiFi may deployed (though it's worth noting it can be hit-and-miss; the wireless spectrum is rubbish near a hacker con, WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED?).
    • For players on devices such as a MacBook Air, USB-ethernet adapters worked fine for a number of players last year.
  • Be prepared for whatever packets and frames hit said device from the .tr0n network.
  • All the tools you'll need can be found in a copy of Kali Linux (https://www.kali.org). Bring something for Windows binaries just in case.
  • The .tr0n local council can provide flash drives with copies of Kali on it for those who don't bring their own.



0x04: DANGER! HIGH VOLTAGE

  • All players are asked to refer to the Kiwicon Code of Conduct (tl/dr; don't be a shitweasel).
  • The organisers of Hamiltr0n III accept no responsibility for any loss of data on, or damage to, any devices connected to the .tr0n network. A CTF network could potentially be considered a "somewhat hostile environment"; using your laptop full of corporate data probably isn't a great idea.
  • Any and all persons, organisations, or places involved in the CTF are merely fictional, any relation to real life is purely a coincidence. Only the old ones are real.



0x05: DATES + TIMES

  • Hamiltr0n III will begin at 1300 on the 17th, and finish at 1500 on 18th, with extensions possible based on the situation.



0x06: SCORING

In the interest of fairness, the scoring system will be as follows:

  • 1st, 2nd, 3rd teams based on total points.
  • 1st, 2nd, 3rd teams based on total points per head (excluding the top 3 teams based on total points).
  • Some participants will be awarded with spot prizes.