Revolutionizing the Visual Design of Capture the Flag (CTF) Competitions

Abstract

There are a variety of cyber-security challenge tournaments held within the INFOSEC and Hacker communities, which among their benefits help to promote and identify emerging talent. Unfortunately, most of these competitions are rather narrow in reach, being of interest primarily to those enthusiasts who are already well versed in cyber security. To attract a broader pool of younger generation participants requires one to make such events more engaging and intellectually accessible. The way these tournaments are currently conducted and presented to live audiences is rather opaque, if not unintelligible to most who encounter them. This paper presents an ongoing effort to bridge the presentation gap necessary to make cyber security competitions more attractive and accessible to a broader audience. We present the design of a new but familiar model for capturing the interplay, individual achievements, and tactical drama that transpires during one form of cyber security competition. The main user interface and presentation paradigm in this research borrows from those of established e-sports, such as League of Legends and Overwatch. Our motivation is to elevate the current format of cyber security competition events to incorporate design and presentation elements that are informed by techniques that have evolved within the e-sports community. We apply the physics models and battlefield visualizations of virtual world gaming environments in a manner that captures the intellectual challenges, team achievements, and tactical gameplay that occur in a popular form of cyber security tournament, called the Capture The Flag (CTF) competition. Our goal is to make these events intellectually accessible to broader audiences, to engage a broader and more diverse talent pool of competitors, and to increase the awareness and interest in cyber security among the general public.