ctf

Background

As I have previously mentioned, I am the captain of a CTF team called Hellbound. The nuts and bolts of it, is that my team is assembled of complex puzzle solvers with different specialties and skills. We are comprised of mostly USA based students, artists, hackers, etc. The puzzles that we solve can be very technical, and operate in categories like reverse engineering, OSINT, PWN, cryptography, blockchain, etc. Hacking isn’t as mystical as it may seem, and people with the skill are good to have when you need to combat criminals. We hone our skills to drive improvements in security and privacy practices.

The competitive side of these events is global, hosting teams from every technical, occupied nation in the world. If teams compete at a high enough level, there are financial (and other) incentives and rewards. Ranked agains the whole world, Hellbound is in the top 300, and we are top 30 in the United States. We are only getting better, and we are always on the lookout for talent that is committed to competing.

Our goal is to provide opportunities for competitors of all kinds to get better. We are working on a website, hosting our own event, and creating resources that will be helpful to newbies and pros.

At the individual level, I focus particularly on OSINT, but I have dipped my toes into other topics. I practice OSINT especially because I enjoy the realworld application that many of the challenges offer. See a location that you need or want to identify? I have the skills for that. You have information on an account, IP, group or person that needs tracked down? I can do that. OSINT is far and above one of the more easy categories to practice due to the less technical nature, but this is one of the reasons I originally assembled a team: there is only upwards room to grow when you surround yourself with brilliant people. I learn something new everytime I compete, and I love interacting with passionate and like-minded peers.

Resources

• If you want to check out our resource list on Google sheets, it is available here.
• To view and submit an application to join the team, please fill out this Google form.
• For other general inquiries, please send an email to inquiry@teamhellbound.com.
• Our website is not yet complete, but when it is teamhellbound.com is the spot to go.