Uploaded May 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Learn Hacking? Let's explore the one-sided arguments why CTFs are terrible to learn hacking and doing IT security work.

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CTF Guidelines: docs.google.com/document/d/1QBhColOjT8vVeyQxM1qNE-pczqeNSJiWOEiZQF2SSh8/preview#

CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction and Example 1: Barcode
00:39 - Example 2: Flag Hidden in an Image
01:19 - Example 3: dah-dah-di-di-dah
01:40 - Guessing and Thinking Like the Author
01:55 - GCHQ CyberChef CTF Tool
02:35 - Example 4: Boot2Root / VM Based Challenges
03:11 - Useful Only For Absolute Beginners
03:33 - Always the Same Challenges
04:07 - Teaching a Wrong Mindset
04:55 - CTFs Provide Wrong Incentives
05:22 - Limited Topics Covered by CTFs
06:12 - Beyond the Technical Aspects - Mental Health
06:47 - Advanced CTF Challenges - Pwnables
08:10 - Unrealistic Challenges
08:23 - Designing CTF Challenges is Hard
08:50 - Playing CTFs as a Professional
09:04 - Outro

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