At the cyber defence and security innovation hackathon "Fire Shield 2023" organised by the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union (LRU) and the investment fund "ScaleWolf" in October, the student team “Aggressive Pacifists” representing the Kaunas Faculty of Vilnius University (VU KNF), took second place in the cyber competition "Capture The Flag" (CTF).
The student team “Aggressive Pacifists” of Vilnius University Kaunas Faculty (VU KNF) was formed by Raimundas Mačiulis, Matas Žukauskas, Adrius Čypas and Karolis Petniūnas, the students of the VU KNF bachelor’s degree programme Information Systems and Cyber Security.
The main task of the cyber game CTF (Capture The Flag) is to find 28 flags within 24 hours hidden in a virtual polygon created especially for the hackathon. A total of 50 participants took part in the competition.
“It was a pleasure to participate in the CTF with charismatic and motivated teammates. We hope to participate in the future as well,” said Raimundas Mačiulis, a first-year student of the VU KNF bachelor’s degree programme Information Systems and Cyber Security, who brought together the team for the hackathon.
“It’s not so much the ranking that brings me joy but the sheer sense of achievement and learning we’ve gained throughout the competition,” said Karolis Petniūnas. “All of the team members offered creative solutions, showed their abilities and relentless dedication. Every obstacle became a springboard for improvement and growth,” he said.
The largest cyber defence and security innovation event in the Baltics
Lieutenant Colonel Linas Idzelis, commander of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, pointed out that comprehensive efforts are needed to ensure the security of the state. That is why the cyber defence and security innovation hackathon “Fire Shield 2023” consisted of two parts: the development of technologies for land, sea and air security in a classical hackathon and a CTF game for the strengthening of cyber security skills.
130 participants took part in the event. They were consulted by mentors from different disciplines, including experts from the international cyber security institute SANS, as well as TryHackMe and ScaleWolf. The ideas of the hackathon teams were evaluated by partners of the investment fund ScaleWolf. On the last day, they decided to double the prizes and, instead of the planned prize fund of €30,000 for three teams, they distributed €60,000 to six teams.
Prepared according to the press release of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union
Photo: Vilmantas Raupelis