Meet the Finalists hacking an on orbit satellite for the first ever CTF in Space
Team Slogan: Cabbage the flags!
Location: Germany (plus some other European countries)
About the team:
The Krautsat team consists of cybersecurity and space enthusiasts who love to hack satellites. This team is based on Sauercloud, which is an alliance of people from the main German CTF teams plus a few friends from the space sector. Their professions range from high school students to PhD level security professionals and employees from different industries. Members of the team have experience competing in prior Hack-A-Sat finals and all are fueled by a steady supply of Club Mate!
Competitive Edge:
They have motivation, skills, talent, luck & proliferated cabbage.
Team Slogan: Ci stanno tracciando (Translation: They are tracking us)
Location: Italy
About the team:
mHACKeroni was founded in 2018 by combining the strengths of the major Italian CTF teams. Since then, mHACKeroni has qualified for DEF CON CTF Finals 5 times, HITB Pro CTF 2 times, and several other high-level competitions.
The team consists of approximately 60 members from the academic world, including the Politecnico di Milano and Torino, La Sapienza University of Rome, and the Universities of Padua, Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Parma and Perugia. The team also includes Italian researchers from prestigious foreign institutions such as TU Wien, ETH Zurich and EURECOM, as well as industry professionals from companies, such as Facebook, Google, Apple and CrowdStrike.
mHACKeroni brings together a diverse range of expertise and experience to tackle ethical hacking challenges.They are known for their unconventional problem-solving skills… also their dislike of pineapple pizza.
Competitive Edge:
They are the best at “misc.”
Team Slogan: Innovation at speed
Location: USA, UK
About the team:
This Northrop Grumman team has participated in every Hack-A-Sat. Each year they have learned, adapted and addressed skill gaps, while improving their performance. They pride themselves on being inclusive, believing that everyone has a seat at the table and can contribute to defining possible. As a result, the team is comprised of a diverse group of backgrounds and skill sets, including cyber software engineering, engineering, systems engineering, signal image processing, cyber architecture, mission architecture, physics, data science orbital mechanics and satellite operations.
As colleagues, the members of SpaceBitsRUs are united by common values that define who they are as a people, culture and company. They are driven by fierce curiosity, dedication and innovation and are ready to push the boundaries of what’s possible to solve tough problems.
SpaceBitsRUs is committed to advancing the satellite security field and proud to be part of the community working to make space safer.
Competitive Edge:
They have a passion to secure space!
Location: Poland, Germany and Ireland
About the team:
Poland Can Into Space was formed when two Polish CTF teams, Dragon Sector and p4, decided to try their luck in space. They invited a few friends and formed a team including software engineers, security engineers and students. Turns out their luck was pretty good as they are the defending champions of Hack-A-Sat 3.
Competitive Edge:
They won Hack-A-Sat 3 and placed 2nd in Hack-A-Sat 1 and 2.
Team Slogan: I don’t know…ask ChatGPT
Location: USA, UK
About the team:
jmp fs:[rcx] consists of the combined talent of Hack-A-Sat’s first-year champions, PFS, and RTX’s CTF Team, RCX. PFS brings to the table a strong base in the traditional CTF skills. RCX brings both the CTF skills to help with traditional challenges, but also more diverse skills to cover some of the unique challenges Hack-A-Sat offers.
They’ve hacked the planet. Now they’re ready to hack the cosmos.
jmp fs:[rcx] team members range from defense contractors to industry specialists to freelance penetration testers. Some of them hack video games, others hack… other things. Some have previous quaternion experience and one is a radio guy.
jmp fs:[rcx] is passionate about chugging caffeine and mumbling about hexdumps.
What differentiates this team?
They execute perfectly timed cosmic bit flips…