📅 Date: 14-15 March 2025
📍 Format: Online (32-hour CTF)
🧠 Type: Active Event
This March, I took part in the Cyber Security Challenge Belgium (CSCBE), one of the country’s biggest student Capture The Flag competitions. The event ran for 32 intense hours and featured over 1,000 participants in more than 350 teams.
👥 Team xX5up3rH4ck3rsXx
I teamed up with fellow students:
- Gintare Matukaityte (Forensics)
- Vincent Van Zele (Reverse Engineering)
- Gavin Latchoomun (Networks)
- Myself, Selim Celebi (Reverse Engineering & Web Exploitation)
We took a divided approach, assigning challenges by domain and constantly reassessing based on the dynamic scoring system. We focused on:
- Quick wins for fast points
- Deeper reverse engineering & crypto puzzles
- Monitoring Discord for updates & hints
🧩 Challenge Highlights
The CTF covered:
- Web vulnerabilities
- Mobile security
- Cryptography
- DNS misconfigs
- Forensics & pwn
Some challenges were straightforward; others stumped the entire field. We placed 149th among 350+ teams in a field of over 1,000 competitors, solid mid-pack results that pushed us to sharpen our approach for next time.
💭 Reflections & Takeaways
- Tooling matters: We relied too much on manual work instead of automation
- CTF ≠ Real World: The challenges are puzzle-like, not always aligned with industry tools
- Stress-tested: Staying sharp across 32 hours taught us a lot about mental endurance
🧭 Looking Ahead
CSCBE showed me the value of team strategy and real-time decision-making under pressure. Each edition sharpens that instinct further. I keep coming back with a stronger mindset and better tools in hand.