TribeCTF 2024 – W&M’s first Capture-the-Flag (CTF) competition is a resounding success!
The William & Mary Cybersecurity Center, in partnership with Mantech International, organized TribeCTF 2024, W&M’s first Capture-The-Flag (CTF) competition, on campus from October 4th (Friday) to October 6th (Sunday), co-located with &hacks, W&M’s premier hackathon. Competitors vied for prizes totaling $9,000, and the fame of besting some of the best in Virginia.
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Over three days, 33 teams (70 participants) from four schools, namely William & Mary, George Mason University, Virginia Tech, and the University of Virginia, competed to solve 16 cybersecurity challenges in forensics, cryptography, reverse engineering, and coding. The teams worked all night on the 4th and the 5th, fiercely competing to solve as many challenges as possible and capture the most flags before anyone else.
Ultimately, a two-person team from W&M, composed of undergraduate students Luna Harrison (luna) and Walker Knapp (wtknapp), won first place (and the $5,000 prize). Luna and Walker solved all but one challenge and scored 6450/7450 points. A team from GMU (Mason Competitive Cyber), consisting of students Tanner Laventry (Txnner), Jax Dunfee (jjj), Sanskar Pokharel (sans), and Nicholas Stormer (salochi) won second place ($3,000 prize), solving 14/16 challenges and securing 5950/7450 points. Another two-person team from W&M consisting of undergraduates Celia Schaefers (CeliaS) and Zachary Bowden (lexzach) closely followed with 5650/7450 points by solving 13/16 challenges, securing third place and a prize of $1,000. Five other teams that ranked from 4th – 8th also received an honorable mention.
The event featured a well-rounded and captivating set of problems: an entry-level challenge allowed 94% of participants to enter the competition, while one particularly difficult problem remained unsolved by all teams. The competition concluded with a thrilling finish, with each of the top three teams solving just one more challenge than the team behind them.
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TribeCTF was organized by an inaugural organizing committee (OC) co-led by Computer Science professors Adwait Nadkarni (also the Director of the W&M Cybersecurity Center) and Stephen Herwig, and consisting of W&M CS students Amit Seal Ami (Ph.D. student), Lily Gloudemans (BS, class of 2025), Nicolas Janis (BS, class of 2026), Pankaj Niroula (Ph.D. student), and Aashutosh Poudel (Ph.D. student). The OC set up the infrastructure for the CTF with the help of CS systems administrator Joseph Hause, and developed the 16 challenges in partnership with Mantech.
Besides top CTF teams from GMU and VT, most participants were first-time CTF players from W&M (including the team that came third, besting many experienced players). Given this significant interest in cybersecurity among the W&M student body, the OC will return with TribeCTF in October 2025!
