Our fifth BelkaCTF is now finished. We sincerely hope you enjoyed the competition, its plot and tasks. Thanks to every participant, and congratulations to July's winners:
Professional track: Weihan Goh, Beomjun Park, Vlad Roskov
Student track: Kevin Tan, Sanghyuk An, Hyunjae Park
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It was another record breaking day of heat in the city. The sun seemed to effortlessly squeeze the sweat from my brow as I made the short walk from the street into our building. My mind couldn't help but wander back to my phone conversation late last night with the newly promoted Chief. In the world of digital forensics, late-night phone calls are a harbinger of bad news—usually really bad. It's probably why I could feel a new sensation of tension balled in my shoulders—a feeling that, if I was completely honest, I kind of liked as it meant the hunt was afoot.
I remember my eyes opening to the sound of the phone ringing. "Chief, let me guess ...", my words hung on the line as the Chief interrupted, "First thing tomorrow morning, my office."
Here I was, being motioned into the Chief's office to hear another tragic story that I know only all too well. I take a seat in an over-used chair opposite the Chief and his desk as he begins to brief me on the latest.
"A girl, 17-years old, a party girl—you know the type, young, invincible, trusting her friends more than her own parents. She was last seen at a party two, well, now three days ago. Her parents said they didn't think much of it the first day or two. Of course, I didn't tell the parents how cold a case looks just 72-hours after the fact, but that's where we are on this one."
"There may not be a lot to go on physically, but she had to have a phone or a computer, right?"
"You'll find out once you get to the lab."
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