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227-0085-72L 3 Credits BSC D-ITET

P&S: Capture the Flag – Introduction to Cybersecurity

Lecturers & Examiners: Prof. Dr. Kaveh Razavi
The course unit can only be taken once. Repeated enrollment in a later semester is not creditable.
VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-06-01 11:33:22

Abstract

The category of "Laboratory Courses, Projects, Seminars" includes courses and laboratories in various formats designed to impart practical knowledge and skills. Moreover, these classes encourage independent experimentation and design, allow for explorative learning and teach the methodology of project work.

Objective

This course offers students hands-on experience in security competitions through Capture the Flag (CTF) challenges, requiring the students to identify and exploit basic security vulnerabilities. Before each set of CTF challenges, the students will study preparatory material and then discuss the topics with the direct supervisor in the flip classroom model. Solving security challenges enables the students to build a security mindset and provides fundamental and basic knowledge for a career in cybersecurity. Students will tackle challenges in cryptography, web security, and assembly-level exploitation. By the end of the course, they will have gained necessary background and tools to understand cybersecurity threats and apply their knowledge in practice. More specifically, CTF challenges will be on three main topics: 1. Cryptography where students learn about basics of cryptanalysis with foundations on symmetric and asymmetric cryptography 2. Web security where students learn about the vulnerabilities in the internet and how to exploit vulnerabilities in websites (e.g., SQL injection and command injection) 3. Assembly/binary security where students learn about low-level machine codes and how to exploit them (e.g., disassembly, return-oriented programming, buffer overflow) Prerequisites and Notes: - The course is in English and open to 5th or higher semester students - Familiarity with C programming, assembly, and Linux is required for this course

General Information

Language
English
Levels
BSC
Frequency
Semesterly recurring

Examination

Type
ungraded semester performance

Registration & Places

Limited places (Special selection)
Signup Start
14.02.2025
Signup End
28.02.2025
Priority: Registration for the course unit is only possible for the primary target group

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
practical/laboratory course P&S: Capture the Flag – Introduction to Cybersecurity
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  • Thu 16:15-18:00 (ETZ G 71.2)
3 h weekly

Offered In