HTB Business CTF 2024: The Vault of Hope recap

Hack The Box’s (HTB) highly anticipated Business Capture The Flag (CTF) event gets bigger and better every year, with 2024’s event featuring two new categories: ICS and coding.

Thanks to the amazing participation of 943 teams, this year’s event was one to remember, with an exciting battle for the top three winners! 

In the aftermath of nuclear disaster, one vault remained ☢️

This year’s theme took place in the aftermath of a devastating nuclear fallout, with players tasked to discover a hidden underground vault, rumored to cradle the gold reserves of a long-forgotten nation. With promises of a new currency and societal rebirth, the team journeys through peril, each step fraught with danger.

Teams maneuvered through the intricate dance of defying the vault's formidable defenses. 

We witnessed skilled security teams exploit vulnerabilities, disable sensors, and outsmart turrets. Resourceful engineers crafted makeshift devices, disrupting surveillance and silencing communication frequencies, ensuring stealth amidst chaos.

The immersive event had teams battling over five days to win The Vault of Hope and bring home the glory.

The winners 🏆

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s Business CTF, we wouldn’t be able to host such amazing events without your support! 

Now, without further ado, let’s celebrate this year’s amazing winners: 

🥇 First place: Synacktiv 

🥈Second place: GMO Cybersecurity by IERAE

🥉Third place: Vulnlab

The prizes 💰

The stakes were high for this year’s prizes, with the total prize value hitting a whopping $50,000+! 

It was a battle to get to the top and take home gift cards, free lab access, certification vouchers, and our limited-edition trophy.

Well done to all the winners–you’ll be hacking in style with the amazing swag! 

The sponsors 💚

Without the support of our incredible sponsors, events like these wouldn’t be possible. We’d like to sincerely thank our diamond sponsor, Bugcrowd, and our Base sponsor, Atlus Consulting, for continuing to help bring the Business CTF to life.

The stats 📈

We all love a good statistical breakdown, especially in the cybersecurity industry. So, how did our teams fare against The Vault of Hope? Let’s dive into the juicy details:

• 4,944 players participated in our friendly competition.

• 9,413 flags were submitted.

• 943 corporate teams joined.

• 90 countries were represented.

• 58 challenges across 12 categories.

• 4426 certificates were awarded.

• $50,000 in prizes for our winners!

Here’s what the players are saying 🗣️

Don’t just take our word for it, the corporate teams loved participating in this year’s Business CTF, and we loved hearing about their enthusiasm for the event.

 

 

 

 

Don’t forget to watch our pre-business CTF talks

While the competition is over, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still enjoy our pre-event hacking workshops on YouTube! 

We had a few members of the HTB team sharing their knowledge as well as some special guests, you can watch all of the talks here.

Some highlights include:

• Solving the Watersnake challenge by Ippsec

• The road from technical pro to CISO

• A Walkthrough of a Hardening sherlock by sebh24

Ready to host your own CTF?

Just because Business CTF is over, it doesn’t mean that you and your team can’t reap all the benefits of hosting your own. Let our expert team set one up for you! 

At HTB, we have more than 55 challenges and curated packs across both offensive and defensive content, which you can tailor to your business objectives. 

Our Enhanced Event Management feature streamlines the setup and coordination of team CTF events with: 

• Member onboarding and organizational management.

• Automated invitations and role assignments.

• Challenge management for configurable events.

• Content categorization and filtering.

We also provide a live scoreboard, providing participants with real-time updates and insights into performance. 

Once the CTF ends, we’ll share detailed team and player reports, benchmarking performance, and areas of improvement for your skill development programs.