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\n\u201cAttackers only have to be right once. You, as a defender, have to be right a hundred percent of the time.\u201d <\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
\u2014Cybersecurity Expert Jim Risler<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
It\u2019s a well-known modern trope in movies and TV shows. A lone figure, head covered, hunches over a keyboard in the darkness. Immediately you know you\u2019re looking at a hacker doing nefarious things.<\/p>\n
But hacking isn\u2019t always fictional. Data breaches are on the rise, costing businesses millions. From 2021 to 2023, there was a 72% increase in data breaches, with email being the most common vector for malware. A data breach is projected to cost an average of $4.88 million in 2024. It\u2019s more important than ever for companies to upskill their networking teams\u2014and it\u2019s an open job market for those looking to learn cybersecurity.<\/p>\n
I spoke with the content creators of the new Capture the Flag challenges inside Cisco U.\u2014Jim Risler, Cisco Learning Product Manager, overseeing security course development, and Paul Ostrowski, Cisco Technical Education Content Developer\u2014to get insight into the competition and why <\/span>it\u2019s<\/span> so important for anyone interested in a cybersecurity career.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
What is a Capture the Flag cybersecurity challenge?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
First, what does Capture the Flag (CTF) mean? Basically, it\u2019s a game in which there\u2019s a defensive and an offensive team competing to win a flag or flags. It could be a sporting event, for children or adults. In this context, Capture the Flag is a cybersecurity challenge.<\/p>\n
Capture the Flag has long been used in the tech community for people to practice their cybersecurity skills. The world\u2019s biggest event is Def Con CTF, taking place in Las Vegas every year. Capture the Flag challenges are also used by big corporations and universities to train people in cybersecurity.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s usually a contest between teams: the offense (red team) and the defense (blue team); or, if both sides are worked simultaneously, a purple team. It could be in person, online, on a multi-person team, or with individual competitors.<\/p>\n
How can I participate in a Cisco U. Capture the Flag challenge?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
You can be anywhere in the world to participate in the Cisco U. Capture the Flag online challenges. Participation is individual. Here\u2019s how to get started.<\/p>\n
Passing one CTF challenge plus the Cisco Networking Academy course will earn you the Cisco Certificate in Ethical Hacking.<\/p>\n
How does a Cisco U. Capture the Flag challenge work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Every challenge will work a little differently. The first challenges (running through 2\/11\/2025) don\u2019t separate you into blue or red teams. \u201cIn Cisco U. the two CTFs we have now are more blue team because you\u2019re doing investigation response, and testing your abilities to detect attacks,\u201d notes Ostrowski. \u201cYou\u2019re functioning as an investigator in both missions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that Cisco U. has a Challenges feature inside the platform, there will be new Capture the Flag online cybersecurity challenges every quarter. Expect a variety of CTFs, including red team-focused ones, where you infiltrate a network and expose its vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n
Each challenge consists of a number of steps- currently 11 steps\u2013 you must complete one by one to pass. The first step guides you through setting up your lab environment, which you\u2019ll need for the remainder of the challenge.<\/p>\n
What score do you need to pass a Cisco U. CTF challenge?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Is there a minimum score you need to pass? Not at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original idea was to make this score out of a hundred, but now it\u2019s just pass or fail,\u201d notes Ostrowski. \u201cSo if you get to Step 11 and correctly answer it, you\u2019ve passed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hints are available throughout. You\u2019ll get points taken away if you use a hint, but it\u2019s structured so you\u2019ll pass regardless of whether you answer everything correctly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an old technology thing geeks like myself say,\u201d says Risler. \u201cRTFM. Read the Friendly manual. It\u2019s all in there for you.\u201d His hints will tell you where to look if you missed a clue.<\/p>\n
Do you need additional training prior to taking the Cisco Networking Academy course?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u201cTechnically you don\u2019t need additional training, but you should understand networking,\u201d Risler advises. \u201cCisco Networking Academy has some fundamentals of networking courses to give you a good foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Building a strong foundation in networking is a crucialHe notes that as an instructor at a university, he sees college students who lack this foundation leaping into more complex cybersecurity training anyway and then struggling to catch up. \u201cTheir professors <\/span>aren\u2019t<\/span> geeks like me<\/span>,<\/span> they<\/span>\u2026<\/span>just <\/span>tell the<\/span> kids<\/span> to study stuff in their book and the next thing you know\u2026the<\/span> students are<\/span> like, \u2018Why is IP addressing important?\u2019 If yo<\/span>u <\/span>don<\/span>\u2019t<\/span> understand <\/span>that,<\/span> yo<\/span>u <\/span>don<\/span>\u2019t<\/span> understand networking.\u201d<\/span> And yo<\/span>u <\/span>won<\/span>\u2019t<\/span> be successful in cybersecurity.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Who should do Cisco U. Capture the Flag online?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Anyone interested in cybersecurity should hop onto the CTF challenge to both learn and test skills. \u201cThe objective of CTF is to bridge the gap between entry-level and pros in cybersecurity, providing hands-on learning with real-world knowledge, skills, and abilities,\u201d says Risler. \u201cA lot of companies say they have this gap. They might have booked cybersecurity education, but the programs don\u2019t do labs or hands-on, or it\u2019s all on a Windows machine. In our CTF, they go through the ethical hacker course, and they\u2019re taught on a DNS (domain name system)\/lab environment, and then that knowledge and skills are used in a near real-world setting.\u201d<\/p>\n
What Cisco U. training should I take after Capture the Flag?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
So you\u2019ve done both CTF challenges in Cisco U. Congratulations! What do you do next, besides wait for our next challenge to do more?<\/p>\n
There are only two paths to pursue in security, according to Risler. \u201cI really think we overcomplicate it,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s an engineering mindset: building the architecture and securing the network. Or there\u2019s defending the network, which is somebody who looks for threats on the network.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re into defending the network, the next areas you can study are:<\/p>\n
Between Cisco U. and Cisco Networking Academy, you can get all the education you need for any security-related career. Cisco is a cybersecurity leader, with protective products like Cisco Umbrella and the intelligence center, Talos, which analyzes 4 TB of threat data every day. \u201cAt Cisco we\u2019re teaching you how cyberattacks are successful,\u201d says Risler. \u201cYou\u2019re learning how they\u2019re able to get a foothold in somewhere and then why did the target attack work? Why did the malware attack on the British healthcare system work? How could you defend against that?\u201d Cisco is uniquely positioned to look at cyberattacks from a purple perspective, seeing what\u2019s coming next and stopping what\u2019s coming now\u2014and pass all that knowledge onto learners.<\/p>\n
Risler recommends:<\/h3>\n
The Sandworm by Andy Greenberg. The true story of the most devastating act of cyberwarfare in history and the desperate hunt to identify and track the elite Russian agents behind it. It\u2019s a great read for anyone interested in cybersecurity and also a fantastic book club choice.<\/p>\n
Tell us what\u2019s exciting to you about Capture the Flag in the comments below. Thanks for reading!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nSecure Organizations by Thinking Like a Hacker<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n