For the first time ever, the Harare Institute of Technology, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services (MICTPCS), TelOne Zimbabwe and ZICT, the ICT Division of the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers (ZIE) will be organizing this exciting event that has taken the cyberspace domain by storm!

CTF is short for Capture The Flag and it is a kind of cyber security contest that challenges participants to solve a variety of cyber-related tasks ranging from analyzing captured network data for secret information, to hacking your way into a server to steal data. In these challenges, the contestant is usually asked to find a specific piece of text or a file that may be hidden on the server or behind a webpage. That hidden data or file is called the flag, hence the name, CTF!

It is open to all people who work in or have an interest in the field of cybersecurity, regardless of their years of experience.

The beauty of CTFs is that they give student hackers, security professionals and enthusiasts as well as hobbyists an opportunity to try out a variety of hacking challenges and basically test their skill level. As most people know, cybersecurity is a domain that affects everyone and the more you have a practical understanding of how attacks can be performed, the easier it is for you to help other people understand how real the threat is.

Yes you will have to register online via this link. Please note that the challenges will only be availed to registered teams and only registered teams will be up to win prizes.

Yes there are! The winning team will be awarded a prize and they will also have the bragging rights as the winners of the first ever Zim CTF Contest.

Yes, you can. The sizes of the teams that can attempt the challenge can range from One person to a maximum of Four individuals per team.

There will be a set of challenges that will need to be completed as is the standard model with CTFs. In this case, it will be time-based, so the first team to complete the challenge, submit a flag and the accompanying report of how they completed the challenge will be the victor.

Yes, the coordinators of the CTF will need to get a report from you on the steps you took in order to overcome the challenges. A standard template will be shared with registered teams. If your team would prefer to submit the report in video format, we can also accommodate that as well.

The CTF model we are using has two phases:

• Phase 1: This will involve the Entry Round and Elimination Round challenges which will all be done by teams remotely and online.
• Phase 2: This will be onsite in Harare where the Top Five teams will battle it out to see who becomes the winner.

1. | Team Registration | 18 September 2019 - 24 September 2019 (extended to 25 September 2019)
2. | Opening of Challenges | 25 September 2019 (extended to 26 September 2019)
3. | Closing of Challenges | 01 October 2019
4. | Announcement of Finalists | 01 October 2019
5. | CTF Finals | 05 October 2019

For more information please get in touch via this IRC link with the following info:

• Nick: This is entirely up to you
• Password: ZimCTF2019
• Channel: #zimctf2019

or you can email us on zimbabwe[dot]ctf[at]gmail[dot]com, we will respond as soon as we possibly can.

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully prior to registration.

• No DoS/automated scans/large amounts of traffic on the hosting servers.
• Do not share flags or solutions with other teams. We will not tolerate flag sharing.
• Participants shall provide correct & truthful information in registration and team creation.
• Participants shall keep their contact information accurate and up-to-date.
• The participants shall ensure the code they use is free from viruses or malware.
• The participant shall not use this contest to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious or discriminatory.
• If any participant is found to have violated the term & conditions of the contest, the coordinating Team has the right, to disqualify the participant without prior notice.
• The Coordinating Team has all the rights reserved, in case of any conflict, the decision of the Coordinating Team shall be final.
• The Coordinating Team reserves the right to change Terms and Conditions.