Ethical hacking with TryHackMe's Capture the Flag series
Capture the Flag!
© Lead Image © Clint Scholz, fotolia.com
TryHackMe's Capture the Flag puzzles are a useful source for users who want to learn about ethical hacking and penetration testing.
Security-minded users today can look online for a seemingly endless catalog of attacks and defenses. I have found the inimitable TryHackMe website [1] to be an indispensable tool that has allowed me to tailor my ethical hacking learning in a way that is both efficient and enjoyable. In my opinion, the presentation of each learning exercise is second to none, and the volume of content is exceptional.
This article describes one of the Capture the Flag (CTF) exercises on the TryHackMe website. A CTF exercise is a ready-made scenario that allows the user to play the role of an intruder, attacking a system and searching for a way to breach security and gain root access. Each time you solve a CTF puzzle, you capture a "flag" and are awarded points that allow you to assess your progress and compete with other users. As you can probably guess, I chose a CTF exercise based on a Linux machine. Before sitting down to write this article, I contacted TryHackMe and received permission to write about this CTF. The Bounty Hacker CTF described in this article is one of the many free CTFs on the TryHackMe website, so create a free account and try it yourself if you are interested.
On Your Marks
TryHackMe provides lots of free content, but if you pay a few dollars a month, you get faster CTF server startup times and dedicated UI attack machines that run in a browser. However, it is also possible to connect into their networks via a VPN without subscribing.
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