What we’re about
SecTalks are informal, technical, no-bullshit* IT security discussions. It's about learning from others, talking about interesting things you're working on, and improving your security skills. We run a regular CTF.
From August 2016, we'll be running London meetups in a couple of formats:
• Ninja Nights: we meet at a pub and show off our ninja skills while solving a short 60-minute CTF. And drinking.
• Talk & CTF: a 15-25 minute presentation on an infosec topic, followed by a short 60-minute CTF. The winners write the next CTF (and show off their solutions).
SecTalks started in 2013 in Perth, Western Australia and quickly spread to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane - and now we're working to kick off our first international meetup in London. We're a zero-cost operation, run by members: we present our talks in donated space, CTFs are written by the winners of the previous month, and we encourage everyone to speak occasionally on something cool they're working on.
Sound like fun? Hit Join above. New to infosec? Hit Join above! We're open to anyone who wants to improve and share their skills, and our CTF challenges range from straightforward (for example, an insecure web application) to ... very interesting. All our talks, CTFs and solutions are written up and published on GitHub.
Working on something interesting? Proposals for 15-25 minute presentations to get us started are extremely welcome. As in, I will shower you in gratitude and/or beer.
What on earth is a CTF? Each month, a member writes a Capture-the-Flag - a technical puzzle - for other members to solve. At the next meeting, the winners present their solution, and the first person to solve the CTF writes the challenge for the next month. Topics include things like binary reverse engineering, breaking simple crypto, or analysing network services. Generally, no prior knowledge is expected - the challenges are sometimes obscure, and you're expected to do a little bit of research to figure it out.
Want more information? The SecTalks computer-machines are connected to the interwebs and ready to serve you!
Email: london@sectalks.org
Twitter: @sectalks_lon
Web: http://www.sectalks.org/london
GitHub: https://github.com/sectalks/sectalks (presentations, past CTFs and solutions)
IRC: irc.sectalks.org:6697 (SSL) #sectalks (ping blinken)
* Being an Australian invention, we have a strict "no-bullshit" policy: no politics, vendor promotion or harassment. We love short, interesting, technical presentations and tricky CTFs.
