At the annual DEF CON 30 hacking conference, August 11-14, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada, two MTU RedTeam students–Computer Engineering majors Sophia Kraus and Josh Stiebel–along with three others not affiliated with Michigan Tech, competed in the Fathom5 SeaTF capture the flag (CTF) competition. Their team, “Revolutionera,” placed fifth out of 22 teams. View the leaderboard. View a video about the competition.
The SeaTF contestants participated in a point-based CTF hacking competition based around 3 maritime consoles: navigation systems, steering and propulsion systems, and ballast systems. The systems provided a realistic experience of the actual systems found aboard a naval vessel.
Each console offered an array of assigned challenges associated with CAN Bus and RF signal manipulation, such as taking over the speed and direction of the vessel.
Both Kraus and Stiebel Josh had previous experience with wireless and CAN Bus exploitations of physical systems and Fantom5, having participated in the April 2022 CyberBoat Challenge, which also used the Fantom5 platform.
Along with Krause and Stiebel, eight additional MTU Red Team students attend the conference, attending talks and exploring event’s numerous “villages,” and learning more about the variety of opportunities within the cybersecurity industry.
Pictured at left are Josh Stiebel (left) and Sophia Kraus.