@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst We made @pwncollege to increase the approachability of the hands-on cybersecurity skills that we LOVE (and that are critically needed in our society). We initially conceptualized it as a "first step" for bright Computer Science students looking to dip a toe into Cybersecurity.

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst We've since pushed into both basic concepts (e.g., how to use Linux https://pwn.college/linux-lumi... and very cutting-edge techniques (sophisticated exploits, other platforms, etc), pushing toward a "zero to hero" model that aims to fully train top cybersecurity experts.

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst It works! Those completing pwncollege and earning Blue Belts are sought-after, competent hackers. But they don't emerge omnipotent. Our material, while challenging, is designed to be solved and learned from. The real world isn't, leaving a gap that even blue belts must overcome.

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst Of course, some of this just needs moar #pwncollege (example: we're building Brown Belt material around tackling the security of complex targets), but there's still a fundamental education-to-non-education phase shift that our hackers must overcome. Our interim solution? CTF!

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst Capture the Flag contests aren't specifically meant to educate: challenges can involve learning, perfecting, or expanding skills, but may or may not help the hacker with that process. This approachability gap between pwncollege and CTF/real security is something we often observe.

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst Back in July, ASU's ACE Institute launched the CTF Academy with the goal of bridging this gap through mentorship of top pwncollege learners by established CTF teams and players through CTF competitions (en route to the real world)! That July announcement: @Zardus/112683824753698044 class="text-blue-500 hover:underline" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://defcon.social/@Zardus/...

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst Over the intervening months, this idea has solidified into a pilot project! This has largely been thanks to the awesome work of @X3eRo0, the Sensei of CTF Academy, and our mentor teams @Shellphish and @l3akctf. The CTF Academy has been busy...

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst @X3eRo0 @shellphish @l3akctf @Shellphish and @l3akctf have taken turns mentoring our team of budding hackers through CTFs, leading to flags, skills, confidence development, and some great results! Last week, the CTF Academy team placed 21st in @DamCTF; a few weeks ago, 27th in boilers! Now it's time to grow.

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst @X3eRo0 @shellphish @l3akctf @DamCTF Today, we're growing the CTF Academy in three ways: more mentors, more skill levels, and more platforms! Read on for the full scoop, or stay up to date on the new CTF Academy website: https://ctf.asu.edu/education/...

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst @X3eRo0 @shellphish @l3akctf @DamCTF On the mentor side, we're scaling this out to more teams! If you're an established CTF team that is interested in taking a turn in the mentor rotation, we'd love to have you on board! Check out more info and a sign up form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/...

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst @X3eRo0 @shellphish @l3akctf @DamCTF Next, we're scaling hacker skill levels! So far, we limited CTF Academy to hackers who completed the Blue Belt (Advanced Exploitation) material on http://pwn.college, so that mentors would not be overloaded with introductory technical mentoring, saving mentoring capacity.

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst @X3eRo0 @shellphish @l3akctf @DamCTF This has worked quite well! Rather than explaining Heap Exploitation, the mentors could focus on, e.g., tricky heap massaging in complex applications, or just how to approach a complex challenge in general. In fact, it's worked well enough that we're relaxing the requirements!

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst @X3eRo0 @shellphish @l3akctf @DamCTF http://pwn.college Green Belts learn ROP, Heap, kernel security, and even microarch concepts, so we're inviting Green (and, pending capacity, earlier) Belts to CTF Academy! We expect this will help Green Belts solidify their skills without adding too much CTF mentor load.

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst @X3eRo0 @shellphish @l3akctf @DamCTF On to the Platforms! http://pwn.college has good (and growing!) content in various security concepts, but shines most in binary exploitation. Other sites (I maintain a list at https://wargame.nexus) have other specialties, so including their top hackers would be great!

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst @X3eRo0 @shellphish @l3akctf @DamCTF An amazing cryptography education resource is http://cryptohack.org. These hackers, too, would be amazing to help ramp into CTF and the real world. Now, once you reach Level 15 there, you're welcome to join us at CTF Academy by filling out this form! https://docs.google.com/forms/...

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst @X3eRo0 @shellphish @l3akctf @DamCTF Want to see your education platform feeding into CTFs as well? If you run an educational platform that you think is a great bridge to CTF Academy, let us know!

@pwncollege @ASU @ace_inst @X3eRo0 @shellphish @l3akctf @DamCTF That was a longer thread than expected, but we're super excited about these next steps in CTF Academy! Stay tuned for more exciting stuff in the future and, if you want a non-microblogging place to stay up to date, keep an eye on https://ctf.asu.edu/education/...