BYU Cybersecurity Camp CTF Rules

By playing in this CTF, you agree to abide by the following rules.

Who can join?

This BYU CTF Challenge is open to any participant of the BYU summer cybersecurity camp.

What will disqualify you?

• Do NOT ask for or share any flags from other camp attendees, staff, or anyone else.
• Do NOT try to brute force flags.
• Do NOT attempt to breach the CTF system or carry out any unapproved hacking activities beyond the parameters of the competition.
• Do NOT exhibit any kind of negative communication or behavior towards other participants during this competition. This is a friendly competition and we are here to learn, not to belittle one another.
• Do NOT otherwise attempt to cheat through methods such as hint harvesting (see below).
• Every participant is expected to abide by all local, state, and federal laws.
• We reserve the right to make changes to these rules if necessary and we will communicate any updates clearly and promptly. Anyone that breaks these rules will be subject to penalty and potential disqualification from prizes.

How long does it go for?

The competition will go from 2:30pm on Monday until 2:30pm on Friday to allow for 4 full days of competition time. The scoreboard will be frozen at 12:00pm on Friday so that competitors cannot see each other's scores, but scoring will continue until the CTF ends.

What can you receive?

After the competition has ended and we validate scores, we will announce the top 3 overall winners by points, each of which will receive a prize.

How to submit flags?

To get points, you must submit flags in the text box for each challenge. When you submit your answer, it will let you know if you answered correctly or incorrectly. If you answer incorrectly, don't worry- you have unlimited tries up until the competition ends. Keep in mind that flags will be in flag format, i.e. byuctf{}, unless otherwise stated in the challenge.

What do I do if I have a question?

If a challenge is not working or you think there is a problem with it, come talk to one of the camp counselors in person. However, we can only help if the challenge is not working as we intended, and cannot provide hints or answers.

Can you use AI?

Yes, use of AI is allowed and encouraged.

What is the flag format?

Most of the flags should be in either byuctf{} or byukg24{} format.

How are points calculated?

When you submit a flag, you will receive points. However, throughout the competition, you will most likely see your total number of points decrease. This is expected, because the value of a flag is determined by how many people have solved the challenge (more solves = less points). You will not receive any additional points for completing a challenge first or faster than another person. Everyone will receive the same amount of points for the challenge, no matter when they solved it. The only time it will matter if one person solved a challenge faster than the other is in the case of a tie in points- the person to receive their score first will be placed ahead of the other.

Is Hint Harvesting allowed?

Hint harvesting is the practice of finding alternate methods (such creating alias accounts) to obtain clues in order to maintain your point total and go up the scoreboard. This is another form of cheating and is not permitted.

How do I solve "x" challenge?

The counselors cannot show you how to solve a challenge, as that would be unfair to other participants. However, we recommend looking at the Resources page in the navigation bar for some suggested places to start.

byuctf{thanks_for_reading_the_rules}