Netwars Competition

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NetWars is one of the key competitions in the United States Cyber Challenge

For an overview of the Challenge, please click here to download the description from the White House web site.

Netwars: SANS' Capture the Flag Competition Designed to Identify Future Security Experts

Do you really know your way around computers? Do you think you can recover the password from a computer? Take control of a service? Protect the system against other players who might want to take it over?

Netwars is the latest online game: an adventure across the Internet. You can play the game as an analyst, a penetration tester, a defender, or any combination. You earn points by finding keys, moving to higher levels, capturing services such as a website, overcoming obstacles (attack techniques) and protecting resources (defensive techniques). You can see the other players' scores and your own points scored, live, or on an overall scoreboard.

The NetWars game is a collection of computer and network security challenges. It is designed to represent real-world security issues: their flaws and their resolutions. Each player can follow an independent path based on individual problem solving skills, technical skills, aptitude, and creativity. The game is played in a fun but safe environment using the technology that drives our lives every day.

The game starts when a player downloads and starts a CD-ROM image on a PC or in a virtual environment such as VMware Player. The image contains a brief tutorial and the game's full instructions.

The player must find a hidden key within the image that is downloaded and then uses that key to enter an online environment where knowledge of security vulnerabilities and their exploits can be turned into points.

The NetWars game can be played in a few hours over one or several days.

The next round, round 6, is on Jan 15-24, 2010 PST.

Eligibility: The game is aimed at students from high school through graduate school. Others may play as well.

You don't have to be an overall winner to earn bragging rights.

All who play fairly and well will get recognition and many will get awards.

NetWars Media Coverage

• Video Coverage of NetWars on CNN
• CNN Article on NetWars

Resources That High-Scoring Contestants Rely on For Tactics and Techniques

Cyber Army - An online community of internet users for a self-regulated Internet. "It was CyberArmy that got me started with the advanced computer concepts like programming and they got me into IRC and I learned a lot from there.

Over The Wire War Games - Provides challenges in cryptography. Level of difficulty goes from simple to advance exploitation and programming.

Crakmes - A site with legal reverse engineering practice programs.

Reverse Code Engineering - Reverse engineering tutorials.

Iron Geek - Adrian Crenshaw's Information Security site. Postings of articles, tutorials and local events related to cyber security. The best part is his Hacking Illustrated Videos section where he posts audio and video tutorials.

Remote Exploit Forums - Site offers classes, forums and many tutorials. By the authors of BackTrack. Their forums are a gold mine of information.

Milw0rm - A site where people post their latest exploits and POC, proof of concept. Site also offers papers and tutorials. This site has papers, video tutorials but everyone comes here for the exploits.

Digg - Site collects news from multiple sources. Provides a general overview of what's going in the news as well as technology. Also provides a page related to security - Digg Security.

Reddit - Site collects news from multiple sources. Provides a general view of what's going on in the news. Also provides a page related to security - Reddit Security.

The Exploit Database - Site has recreated the milw0rm database and is now accepting exploit submissions. They are highly respected by the industry and the fact that they are now accepting submissions may make this even more current of an exploit than milw0rm.

Social Engineering - This is the MOST comprehensive site for social engineering that I am aware of and the material is really fantastic sometimes. Site provides information regarding the human element and provides podcasts and a newsletter. This is THE site regarding social engineering.

Hacker News - Sites presents a video every week of everything security related that has happened that week. A really cool way to get updates and it really is hacker news.

Slashdot - Slashdot, provides RSS feeds, news stories submitted from various sites on the internet, book reviews and hardware news.

National Vulnerability Database - NVD, The National Vulnerability Database provides a very thorough and current list of known vulnerabilities in a large number of operating systems and software.

Mitre's Common Vulnerabilities List - Mitre's Common Vulnerabilities List, provides a thorough and current list of known vulnerabilities in a large number of operating systems and software.

Praetorian Prefect - Praetorian Prefect, a notable information security site that contains related news and often release notes for new and updated tools.

Schneier.com- Schneier website, a notable information security site that contains related news and often release notes for new and updated tools.

Securosis - Securosis, a notable information security site that provides related news, research library and blog.

Network World - Network World, provides information related to information security, technology news and videos.

Recommended Literature

• The IDA Pro Book - The Unofficial Guide to the world's most popular disassembler. All about using IDA for reverse engineering.
• Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd edition - Covers everything from coding, exploitation to shellcode and much more.
• The Shellcoder's Handbook: Discovering and Exploiting Security Holes.
• Fuzzing: Brute Force Vulnerability Discovery.
• Gray Hat Hacking, 2nd edition: The Ethical Hacker's Handbook - tools, exploits and vulnerability analysis.
• Reversing: Secrets of Reverse Engineering - Good book on reverse engineering in Windows.
• Assembly Language for Intel-Based Computers (5th Edition) - A good book on learning Intel assembly language.
• C Programming: A Modern Approach - A good book on learning how to program in C.

Click here for information about other competitions in the US Cyber Challenge

Poster

Download a printable PDF poster for the US Cyber Challenge here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find the answers to all of the frequently asked questions here.

Top Talent from Round 2.0

Interview with top talent discovered in NetWars Round 2.0 here.