PTIT CTF 2022: my first CTF prize

PTIT CTF 2022 was the first CTF where I actually won something. A consolation prize, the lowest one they give out, but I was really happy with it.

Some context. PTIT CTF is the student security contest run by the Faculty of Information Security at my school. It’s individual and Jeopardy style, with web, crypto, pwn and reverse engineering. I had joined ISP Club not long before and I was still pretty new to all of this. I could do the easy challenges and get stuck on most of the rest.

During the PTIT CTF 2022 final.

During the contest I spent most of my time on the reverse engineering challenges because they were the ones I found interesting. It was also where I really started learning RE. Before that I didn’t have a clear direction and was trying a bit of every category.

Awards ceremony, PTIT CTF 2022.

The prize itself was small, but it told me I wasn’t completely out of my depth, and also that I had a long way to go. I played the same contest again the next year and got second prize, so I guess the extra practice worked.

If you just joined and you’re not sure whether to sign up because you think you don’t know enough yet, sign up anyway. That’s what I did.