05-06-2023 - DEFCON Qualifiers & CTF 101 Workshop

DEFCON Qualifiers.
Abstract:
There are many great introductory CTFs for those new to cyber security. However, as players become more experienced, they may wish to continue improving their skills by taking on more difficult challenges. This year, Pacific Hackers and HackMiami are putting together a team to play the Defcon CTF Qualifiers in May. In this talk, you'll get some background on the Defcon CTF as a whole, what you should expect when playing the qualifiers, and why you should be interested in playing at all. Can't wait to invite you to the team!
Bio:
Max vonBlankenburg is a dedicated and curious software and security professional. He has experience teaching cyber security concepts with the aid of capture-the-flag style hacking games. Max plays these games frequently as a hobby to improve his skills and explore new areas of tech, which inspires him to share that knowledge with other hackers in the field, especially newcomers. Max has previously spoken at Pacific Hackers' Conference and RSA Conference. He has also hosted IHackWeb3 at venues in San Jose, CA and Miami, FL.
CTF 101: Winning more than the competition.
Abstract:
Have you heard of Capture The Flag and thought it'd be fun? Well there is an even more fun version where you get to stay indoors! Cybersecurity competitions, also known as Capture The Flag (CTF) competitions, have gained significant popularity as a means of developing and showcasing practical cybersecurity skills. The talk will cover various aspects of CTF competitions, including the different types of challenges, common tools and technologies used in CTFs, and the mindset and approach required to succeed.
Bio:
Zach Heller is a cybersecurity professional with experience in consulting, software, and education. He has worked as a software engineer, developed SOAR playbooks, conducted incident response, commanded incidents, delivered penetration tests, secured CI/CD pipelines, written cloud policy runbooks, led the cybersecurity curriculum development team at a nonprofit, taught at coding and cybersecurity bootcamps, and competed as a member of a top 10 US CTF team.

He writes a cybersecurity blog (https://zacheller.dev), competes in and contributes challenges to CTFs, and gives talks and workshops at cybersecurity meetups and conferences. Zach builds client trust with deep technical knowledge, delivers high-quality code and automations, and utilizes his attacker’s mindset to find security gaps in applications, networks, systems, policies, pipelines, and processes.