|
Security games such as Capture-the-Flag (CTF) competitions tap into and cultivate the intrinsic motivation in people to solve puzzles. Such games provide a compelling experience for security practitioners looking to test their skills. Given the level of engagement these games produce, there have been efforts to bring the format into the classroom. While CTFs are ideal for measuring the level of expertise of its participants, there are significant issues that must be overcome before the format can be used in the classroom. Specifically, CTF challenges are often targeted towards experts, consist of static problems with static solutions, are difficult to customize, and require significant time and resources to deploy.
We are currently addressing these issues by building open CTF software and services to support scaffolded, metamorphic challenges in a manner that is easily configured and deployed by instructors across the country to teach their courses. Specifically, the content and difficulty of our CTFs are carefully scaffolded in order to quickly develop confidence and competence in students rather than boredom or frustration. Challenges are generated metamorphically so that each student receives a unique set of challenges in order to deter cheating and to better ensure that every student learns the material. The CTFs are configurable to allow instructors to add and remove challenges based on the topics they wish to cover in their courses. Finally, the CTFs are freely available to instructors in a variety of formats that can be deployed readily.
|
EDU: A Capture-the-Flag Service for Computer Security Courses