ISB and ITPSS host Cybersecurity Competition for Students

Picture above: Group photo of participants at the end of the competition 

International School Brunei (ISB) and local IT security firm ITPSS Sdn Bhd recently organized a cybersecurity Capture The Flag (CTF) competition for students, which saw the participation of four schools, namely International School Brunei (ISB), Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Secondary School, St John’s School, and Chung Hua Middle School Kuala Belait. The students were aged between 14 to 17, currently in Year 9 to 12.

Held at ISB last Saturday, 28 participants were divided into teams of 2 to 3 members each in the half-day event. The competition tested the students' ability to solve Jeopardy-style challenges in areas such as programming, digital forensics, open-source intelligence, and cryptography. 

Computer security CTF competitions involve concealing "flags" within purposely vulnerable programs or websites. Successfully discovering these hidden flags, would allow teams to submit them for scores and accumulate points.

Your Local Quacks, a team representing Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Secondary School, emerged as the winners with an impressive score of 1,375 points. Following closely was French Revolution from International School Brunei in second position with 1,275 points. Y11 CHMS, from Chung Hua Middle School Kuala Belait, achieved a commendable score of 1,025 points which placed them third.

This was the second CTF organized by ISB and ITPSS for students. The collaboration aims to foster healthy competition among students and provide them with realistic and challenging cybersecurity experiences. By participating in this event, the students were able to develop and refine their skills, setting the stage for their future success in the rapidly evolving field of cybersecurity.

ITPSS will hold its 8th annual Cyber Battle CTF competition in September, with participation open to the public.