Preparations are well underway for the cyberpunk-themed JerseyCTF IV, the fourth annual capture-the-flag (CTF) event organized by the NJIT Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), NJIT Information and Cybersecurity Club (NICC), and NJIT Secure Computing Initiative (SCI) program, held on March 23-24. 

“The goal of a cybersecurity CTF is to win the most points by finding ‘flags’ — text hidden somewhere within a computer,” outlined Will Simkins IV, ACM president and fourth-year computer science and mathematical sciences major. “The fun part is when the flag is outside of the virtual computers you’re given. The more flags you find, the more points you earn for our prizes!” 

Alfred Simpson — SCI member, NICC president, and fourth-year information technology major — explained that there are over 50 challenges meant to test skills in binary exploitation, cryptography, digital forensics, web exploitation, and open-source intelligence.  

One of the key additions to this year’s event is having sponsors tabling so that participants can meet with representatives in real time. Logan DesRochers, SCI member and first-year cybersecurity and privacy graduate student, said that the companies can “network with students and be more involved, allowing students to learn how the skills they’re practicing in the CTF can apply to real world experiences and opportunities.” 

Simkins added that there are plenty of unique advancements in the field of cybersecurity: “I think everyone in the tech industry is afraid of AI taking over, but artificial intelligence is a huge help in finding vulnerabilities.” One of its advantages includes handling pattern matching better than a human or a team of humans can ever do. 

As part of the planning team, Jack Zabriskie — SCI member and first-year information technology administration and security graduate student — is excited to see all the participants gather at NJIT: “Not too many CTFs are in person, so it is a cool experience to plan that portion as well. Last year we had roughly 1,500 participants worldwide, and we are hoping to grow that number this year too!” 

“The most challenging part is the amount of large-scale coordination required. There are lots of moving pieces and people involved, and it can get difficult at times keeping track of everything,” said Ian Hanna, SCI member and fourth-year information technology major.  

Kapila Mane, ACM graphic designer and second-year human-computer interaction major, commented on being able to design the logos, flyers, stickers, and other merchandise with NICC’s graphic designer Ashley Saldana. “It’s so fun seeing students around campus wear old event shirts. It’s crazy to think that once upon a time they were just file mockups on my computer!” Mane said.  

The organizing teams encourage all students to give this event a shot.  

“Upon learning more about this, I felt like Neo from ‘The Matrix,’ breaking out of the matrix for the first time and feeling a sense of both unease and motivation,” mentioned Trent Gwathney, NICC’s training manager and third-year information technology major. “I felt uneasy because this digital world was here all along, and I was unaware of its existence, but I also felt motivated to explore and see what else was left to be discovered.” 

To learn more about the event, visit www.jerseyctf.com. As Gwathney put it, “Good luck, hackers!”