Capture the Flag competitions (CTFs) have become quite popular among hackers and those in the security community, but it remains unclear whether these are fun pastimes or genuine learning opportunities. I’ll examine the skills learned through playing CTFs and compare those to the skills needed for a career as a security engineer. Additionally, I’ll examine the different styles of CTFs available and compare them to the necessary skills.
David (@Matir) is a Red Team engineer for a major internet company and a security researcher focusing on IoT and embedded devices. When not working on these things, he likes to build CTFs for BSidesSF and BSidesLV, and occasionally still finds time to play in a CTF. He also sometimes builds electronic things just for fun.