CAE Cyber Sandbox - Mini Hacks Tier 1 Introduction

Summary

This video introduces viewers to the Tier 1 Mini Hack challenges at Mohawk Valley Community College. James Rice, a cybersecurity faculty member, explains the goal of the Mini Hack: to help students transition from classroom labs to competition environments by developing skills in handling multiple virtual machines and interacting with scoring services. The challenges focus on configuring network services, such as web servers and core routers, and testing them through scoring servers. Emphasis is placed on digital spatial awareness, troubleshooting, and securing infrastructure against potential attacks, providing a hands-on learning experience for competition day scenarios.

Takeaways

• 😀 Mini Hacks challenges are designed to help students transition from classroom labs to real-world competition environments.
• 😀 The main goal of the tier one mini hack is to practice working with multiple virtual machines and managing tasks across them.
• 😀 In competitions, digital spatial awareness is essential as students must manage different machines and services simultaneously.
• 😀 The challenges in the mini hack include configuring networking and services for virtual machines, testing them, and confirming with the scoring server.
• 😀 Students are introduced to a variety of virtual machines, some for testing and some for scoring, and need to configure them correctly to pass challenges.
• 😀 The core router plays a central role in the competition by managing traffic between internal and external systems.
• 😀 Students must get familiar with a scoring server to track their progress and confirm if their configurations are working correctly.
• 😀 During the mini hack, students will need to manage external machines (like Kali) and internal servers (like web servers) to perform the tasks.
• 😀 A major task is to ensure the web service delivers the correct content to the scoring server, such as the team number on the webpage.
• 😀 The competition environment will include offensive elements, where red teams will attempt to break services, emphasizing the need for security and resilience.
• 😀 The tier one mini hack is an entry-level challenge, meant to build the skills necessary for more complex challenges in future tiers of the competition.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the mini hack challenges introduced in this video?

The mini hack challenges are designed to help students transition from classroom labs or tests to a competition environment, focusing on developing skills like digital spatial awareness and multi-tasking across multiple virtual machines.

How does a mini hack challenge differ from a traditional classroom lab or test?

In a mini hack challenge, students need to work with multiple virtual machines simultaneously, manage a dynamic competition environment, and check a scoreboard, which introduces elements not typically found in classroom labs or tests.

What is the main objective for participants in the tier one mini hack?

The goal of the tier one mini hack is to get students accustomed to working with multiple virtual machines, managing services like a core router, and interacting with scoring services to ensure their configurations are correct.

Why is the core router important in the mini hack competition?

The core router is crucial because it manages traffic between internal and external networks, ensuring that services like websites are accessible from outside the team's infrastructure, which is a key task during the competition.

What role do the neutral machines (Cali machines) play in the tier one mini hack?

Neutral machines, like the Cali machines, are used for testing. They allow teams to test services from both external and internal sides of their network to ensure that their configurations are correct before focusing on the scored services.

How should participants begin their work on a mini hack challenge?

Participants should start by checking the official instructions and confirming their machine configurations, including IP addresses, and then use the scoreboard to track their progress and verify that their services are online.

What is the purpose of the scoring server in the mini hack challenge?

The scoring server is used to check if the services configured by the team are correctly implemented and accessible. It serves as an external verification point for the team's progress and functionality.

What should participants do if their machines are not configured according to the topology provided in the challenge?

Participants need to correct the configuration of their machines, including adjusting IP addresses and services, to align with the given topology to pass the validation checks from the scoring server.

What is the significance of the team-specific web page in the mini hack challenge?

The team-specific web page is a crucial part of the challenge, where participants must display a string that includes their team number. This web page must be accessible externally, passing traffic through the router as part of the scoring criteria.

What challenges might participants face during the competition beyond configuration tasks?

Participants will face challenges from a red team that will attempt to disrupt or compromise their services. The participants must secure their configurations to make them resilient to such attacks while continuing to fulfill the competition requirements.