Mason CC's first CTF
November 3rd, 9:30am to 5:30pm
The Hub Rooms 1-5

The interest form is now open. This is not the registration form.

patriotCTF is Mason CC's first CTF hosted at GMU. Like all CTFs, it will feature challenges in cybersecurity that stretches the existing skillset of hackers while encouraging learning. It will be a team CTF. Registration is not yet open. The exact date is pending office conditions at GMU that are announced over the summer, but the current approximation is mid to late September. We are holding it to encourage people to not try to commit too in advance, as we've had poor experiences with that in the past.

Historically our membership has created dozens of challenges for one another, as well as have had a large amount of success in competition, especially in DFIR, web and reverse engineering, and look forward to spending that skillset on the entertainment of others. This will be a challenging, competitive event. People who are brand new to CTFs or security topics listed on this page will find themselves challenged and GMU students who are easily overwhelmed may find themselves more comfortable at other Mason CC functions.

The HUB Rooms 1-5 is essentially the top floor of the HUB. 30 minute parking is available immediately nearby, as well as paid parking.

Registration

When registration opens, 70 hackers will be initially allowed in for 70 seats, after which we will have limited overflow spots. Overflow will be allowed in, but won't be guaranteed free food and in-arena seats until the first 70 don't all check in. It's more than likely the overflow members will be able to compete, but we don't want to guarantee food for more mouths we can feed. On campus is a NUMBER of restaurants including Chipotle, Wing Zone, Red Hot Blue (BBQ), as well as a large amount of open seating so we encourage overflow registrants to come by.

Prizes Include...

  • USB Rubber Duckys
  • Packet Squirrel
  • LAN Turtle
  • Raspberry Pi Model B+
  • Mechanical Keyboard
  • BeagleBone Rev Com


Prizes are "UMDCTF" style in the sense that winners grab what they want and leave the rest on the table.

About Battelle

Battelle is our proud event sponsor. Battelle also sponsors our organization after we discovered a number of our members were enjoying working there, especially in reverse engineering. If you're a CTF competitor and interested in working in what is essentially a very competitive cybersecurity R&D non profit, we recommend trying to get priority access via their on demand cyber challenge.
The day of the event we encourage you to talk to Chris Roberts, Jake Robie or many of the other Battelle employees who are also with CC.

Getting There

Driving and Parking

George Mason U is located in Northern Virginia in the heart of Fairfax. Depending on conditions, if you're coming from the South you're taking I-95 (Southeast, basically Virginia Tech) or I-66. If you're coming from the north (Maryland), you're probably taking I-495. All roads probably lead to Braddock, the main road through Fairfax, into GMU.

For parking there are three major options. One could go to GMU Parking and have a free Lot K weekend pass printed and walk about 10 minutes. Alternatively, one could pay (hourly garage) at the Shennandoah Deck and walk about 5 minutes. Deck rates are available here. Lastly, if someone is driving you here there is 30 minute parking available at the upper base of The HUB on Rivanna River Way.

Food

Pending GMU Funding

Pending incredibly likely GMU funding, we are expecting to have Paisano's and Panera for breakfast and lunch. The first 70 registrants will be guaranteed food and the next 30 after that will be given the option the day of in the order they registered as the 70 fail to check in.

Food includes bagel packs, OJ, pastries, fruits, a series of juices, Paisano's Box Lunches, some soda, a few Caesar Salad trays, and more.

In addition, should you not like our food, there are a number of food options on campus. Check out our partner org's What's Open to understand the locations and hours of our restaurants. Look around the HUB and JC.

Challenge Team

Challenge Writers (all GMU students)

Name Job Specialties CC Position
Michael Bailey Jr Sec Engineer @ Crypsis Group Web, Operating Systems CC President
Paul Benoit Jr Sec Engineer @ Crypsis Group Forensics CC Vice President
Chuck Tran Sec Engineer @ Uffect Corp Embedded Hacking CC Competitions Officer
Chris Roberts Cyber Software Engineer @ Battelle Reverse Engineering CC Hacker
Jacob Robie Cyber Scientist 2 @ Battelle Reverse Engineering CC Hacker
cothan Cryptographic Engineering Research Group @ GMU Cryptography CC Hacker
Zaine Wilson OSCAR Research @ GMU Cryptography CC Hacker
1pwnch Unknown Web Exploitation CC Hacker