Global Hacking Competition Addresses Critical Increase in Cybersecurity Threats for Businesses

London, Monday 3rd July, 2023 — Hack The Box, a disruptive cybersecurity upskilling, certification and talent assessment platform, has announced its upcoming global Capture The Flag (CTF) competition, designed specifically for corporate teams. Running from July 14 to July 16 2023, the competition will include offensive and defensive cybersecurity challenges, offering a valuable resource for cybersecurity teams seeking to fortify their skills as the regularity and severity of cyber attacks increase.

Cyberattacks have risen by 7% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to 2022, and the threat landscape is becoming more diverse and complex for cyber professionals to protect against. In response, Hack The Box has designed its latest online global competition to help cybersecurity professionals learn the latest techniques in defending their organization using real-world scenarios. As cyberattacks grow in number and sophistication, businesses need cybersecurity teams to stay ahead, relying on a range of skills in the offensive and defensive space.

Themed “The Great Escape,” competitors are thrust into a distant dystopian future in a race to colonise Mars. They will be competing to establish Mars as a democracy by hacking into the opponent’s infrastructure, as the opposing team only wishes to occupy the planet for the elites.

In preparation for the event, participants will have access to interactive workshops before the CTF kicks off, which feature defensive security tactics. The competition itself consists of over 30 challenges covering various domains, including web, cloud, pwn, crypto, forensics, reversing, and machines, all based on real-world scenarios. The CTF offers gamified upskilling, encouraging interactive learning experiences that keep participants engaged and motivated. Corporate IT and security teams can sharpen their hacking skills, showcase their expertise, and compete for the top spot on the global leaderboard.

Haris Pylarinos, CEO at Hack The Box, says: “This competition offers a unique opportunity for not only IT and infosec teams to enhance their offensive and defensive cybersecurity skills while being part of an immersive storyline, but to include interns and new hires needing to upskill and learn from each other. A business’ cybersecurity relies as much on offensive and pre-emptive strategies as it does on those teams that address cyberattacks once they have happened. This inclusive approach to cyber training ensures cyber professionals are as prepared as possible in an ever-changing threat landscape.”

Pablo Ruiz Encinas, Security Consultant at Mnemonic, participated in the 2022 Hack The Box Business CTF and said: “We used the HTB Business CTF to get our interns into the hacking world at the same time as the new hires and the more experienced members sharpened their skills. It was fun as well as rewarding to spend that weekend working together and sharing knowledge. I will definitely join for similar events in the future.”

Gabe Lawrence, VP of Information Security Cyber Protection at Toyota, commented: “There’s a stigma of cybersecurity being magic or as easy as it’s portrayed in shows, but it’s not. Hack The Box has helped us learn to address that stigma and get prepared for anything by updating our skills and knowledge base. We use the Dedicated Labs instances for CTFs we host every Friday afternoon. It’s a fun and casual way for the team to gather and work together to solve challenges — and our favorite way to end the work week!”

In 2022, participation included 657 different businesses competing across 84 countries and territories. This was a 75% YoY team participation increase from 2021 to 2022, demonstrating the demand for immersive team learning. For 2023, over 500 teams have already joined to compete.

To join HTB’s Business CTF 2023: The Great Escape, corporate teams can register for free here.

Hack The Box’s CTF 2023: The Great Escape is sponsored by Snyk and ExpressVPN.

About Hack The Box:

Hack The Box is a leading gamified cybersecurity upskilling, certification, and talent assessment platform enabling individuals, businesses, government institutions, and universities to sharpen their offensive and defensive security expertise. Launched in 2017, Hack The Box brings together the largest global cybersecurity community of more than 2m platform members and is on a mission to create and connect cyber-ready humans and organizations through highly engaging hacking experiences that cultivate out-of-the-box thinking. Offering a fully guided and exploratory skills development environment, Hack The Box is the ideal solution for cybersecurity professionals and organizations to continuously enhance their cyber-attack readiness by improving their red, blue, and purple team capabilities. Rapidly growing its international footprint and reach, Hack The Box is headquartered in the UK, with additional offices in Greece and the US.