On September 18, 2024, ethical hackers from across Austria gathered in Vienna for the finals of the Austria Cyber Security Challenge. The ACSC takes place once a year and is organized by the nonprofit association Cybersecurity Austria, opens an external URL in a new window and the Cybersecurity Center CySec, opens an external URL in a new window at TU Wien. The event brought together 15 teams in a bid to solve Capture-The-Flag (CTF) challenges. Participants competed in two age groups and an open category: ages 14 to 20, ages 21 to 25, and an open class for anyone interested in ethical hacking, regardless of age or education. All ethical hackers went through three rounds of competition to qualify for the ACSC finals, with the top 20 players from each age group, along with the top 21 from the open category, earning a spot in the finals.

The competition, designed to test participants’ skills in areas like cryptography, reverse engineering, binary exploitation, web and network security, serves as a major event in the Austrian cybersecurity community. Participants were randomly assigned to teams, adding an extra layer of difficulty as they had to quickly adapt to new teammates with different skill sets. Participating but not competing for ranking positions were Team Austria, which will represent the country at the upcoming European Cybersecurity Challenge, opens an external URL in a new window in Turin, and members of Shecurity, opens an external URL in a new window, an initiative that promotes the involvement of women and girls in the field of cybersecurity.

In this year’s competition, a total of 18 CTF challenges were released. The teams were able to score points for each challenge solved, but the scoring system came with a twist: a decaying point system. The points awarded for each challenge decreased as more teams managed to solve it, giving an edge to players who solved hard tasks that not many others did. The ACSC highlighted the technical skills of Austria’s ethical hackers and emphasized the growing importance of cybersecurity across all domains. The event was a testament to Austria’s talent and its commitment to preparing the next generation of experts in cybersecurity.

The importance of providing a platform for ethical hackers of all ages and backgrounds to push their limits, gain experience, and network with like-minded individuals, is also highlighted by Marco Squarcina, who is part of the organizing team and senior scientist at TU Wien Informatics: “ACSC is the main initiative in Austria to foster young talents in cybersecurity. Participants acquire and develop skills that are immediately applicable in the real world, contributing to shortening the cybersecurity skills gap and improving the overall security of our digital society. By promoting ethical hacking, ACSC also helps steer participants from using their skills for malicious purposes, guiding them to apply their knowledge responsibly. The Cybersecurity Center at TU Wien is fully committed to expanding the ACSC’s reach and impact and creating stronger ties among Austrian universities, companies, and the public sector.”

Our thanks go out to all organizers and supporters of the ACSC, and we want to express our special thanks to everyone who has helped and supported the ACSC behind the scenes.

We congratulate the winners of the ACSC 2024:

JUNIORS

• Michael Gangl
• Bastian Uhlig
• Ulrich Barnstedt
• Christoph Tantscher
• Julian Burger

SENIORS

• Maximilian Seidler
• Andreas Himmler
• Jonas Konrad
• Sebastian Felix
• Philipp Remplbauer

OPENCLASS

• Roland Wallner
• Günter Ebermann
• Paul Panosch

ORGANIZING TEAM

• Patrick Pirker, Syslifters
• Manuel Reinsperger, A1Digital and TU Wien student
• Marcel Schnideritsch, HTBLA Kaindorf and BearingPoint
• Marco Squarcina, Senior Scientist TU Wien Informatics
• with Support from Team Austria members Johannes Berndorfer and Georg Felber, and Daniel Marth, (RISE)

About ACSC

The Austrian Cybersecurity Challenge (ACSC) is an ethical hacking initiative where students from all over Austria put their know-how to the test in two age groups and one open category. But it’s not only about the competitions: The young hackers find like-minded people and peers among themselves, as well as contact with mentors, trainers, and potential employers. The ACSC is organized with support from the Federal Chancellary, opens an external URL in a new window, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, opens an external URL in a new window, and the Austrian Armed Forces, opens an external URL in a new window.