CTF Archive: Capture, Curate, Learn Forever

TL;DR

CTF Archive is a platform that preserves and makes accessible cybersecurity challenge environments from past competitions, enabling sustained learning and exploration beyond the limited timeframe of live events.

Contribution

The paper introduces CTF Archive, a novel platform that centralizes and preserves CTF challenges in ready-to-use environments to enhance ongoing cybersecurity education.

Findings

Enables learners to revisit and explore challenges at their own pace.

Reduces technical barriers by providing pre-configured environments.

Promotes inclusive and scalable cybersecurity education.

Abstract

Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions represent a powerful experiential learning approach within cybersecurity education, blending diverse concepts into interactive challenges. However, the short duration (typically 24-48 hours) and ephemeral infrastructure of these events often impede sustained educational benefit. Learners face substantial barriers in revisiting unsolved challenges, primarily due to the cumbersome process of manually reconstructing and rehosting the challenges without comprehensive documentation or guidance. To address this critical gap, we introduce CTF Archive, a platform designed to preserve the educational value of CTF competitions by centralizing and archiving hundreds of challenges spanning over a decade in fully configured, ready-to-use environments. By removing the complexity of environment setup, CTF Archive allows learners to focus directly on conceptual understanding rather than technical troubleshooting. The availability of these preserved challenges encourages in-depth research and exploration at the learner's pace, significantly enhancing conceptual comprehension without the pressures of live competition. Additionally, public accessibility lowers entry barriers, promoting an inclusive educational experience. Overall, CTF Archive provides a scalable solution to integrate persistent, practical cybersecurity learning into academic curricula.