Cyber Challenges
Welcome. This is a hands-on security awareness session — not a quiz, and not a test. Everything here is a real technique, scaled down so anyone can do it.
You do not need to be technical. Every challenge can be solved with a browser, File Explorer, and Notepad.
How it works
- Open a challenge. Each one gives you a short scenario and usually a file to download.
- Find the hidden flag. It always looks like this:
FLAG{something_like_this} - Paste it into the answer box. Capital letters do not matter. The braces do.
- Read the debrief that unlocks. This is the part that matters.
Stuck? Take a hint
Every challenge has two hints, and all of them are free. They cost you nothing — no points, no penalty, no record. The first nudges you in the right direction; the second gets you very close to the answer.
Use them early and often. Finishing is the point; struggling silently is not.
The debriefs are the actual lesson
When you solve a challenge, a matching entry appears in the Debrief category explaining what just happened, why it matters, and what to change in your own habits.
They are worth zero points. Read them anyway — they are the reason we are here. The puzzle is the hook; the debrief is the message.
Scoring
| Tier | Points | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 10 | A browser and a bit of curiosity |
| Core | 20 | A few more steps, still no special tools |
| Stretch | 30 | For anyone who wants to push further |
Everyone should finish the warm-up tier. Nobody is expected to finish everything.
House rules
- Play with the challenge material only. Do not attack this platform, the network, or each other's accounts.
- The companies and people in these challenges are fictional. Meridian Freight, its staff, and their social profiles were invented for this exercise.
- Everything you learn here applies to real systems. That is exactly why it should only be used on systems you are responsible for, or have written permission to test.
- Ask. A facilitator is in the room. Getting unstuck is not cheating.
Good luck — and when something surprises you, that surprise is the point.