- HITCON CTF, an international hackathon in cybersecurity to be held in Taiwan with pro hackers worldwide.
- Taiwan government takes the initiative to support international hackathon, a world’s precedent.
This year’s contest promises to be bigger and better. After hosting the event for ten years on a voluntary basis, this year, HITCON is 
collaborating with the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) of Taiwan. While previous competitions all took place online, the 2015 event will have, for the first time, an on-site final in Taiwan. Hacker teams and individuals around the world are welcome to join and put their strengths to test! HITCON CTF, for the first time, has obtained funding from IDB of MOEA, and commissioned Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan to jointly implement this contest. It also sets a precedent that a government unit takes the initiative to assist an international hackathon. HITCON CTF will be classified as an important indicator of software security development by MOEA of Taiwan.
The online qualification is scheduled for October 17th, which will likely attract over 1,000 teams globally. The top ten teams will be invited to Taiwan in early December for the final and battle it out for the top prize of US$10,000.
CTF competitions like HITCON CTF have been important avenues to encourage interest in and spot talent for cybersecurity. Major contests include BCTF (China), DEFCON CTF (U.S.), SECCON CTF (Japan), and Global Hackathon Seoul (South Korea).
Taiwan holds the most important strategic location for information security with 25% of the world’s malicious codes first found here. Taiwan seems highly susceptible to cyber attacks, but this potential vulnerability also offers Taiwan a vantage point as it helps create a wealth of cybersecurity data and a talent pool of hackers. Taiwan has a large number of outstanding talents in this field. HITCON team, the event organizer, had outstanding achievements in recent years by winning the first place at BCTF (China) in 2014, and taking the 2nd place/4th place at DEF CON 22/23 CTF (U.S.) in 2014/2015. By hosting events like HITCON CTF, Taiwan aims to help encourage cybersecurity communities on campuses and in the private sector, and ultimately nurture aspiring entrepreneurs in the field. For more information, please visit http://ctf.hitcon.org/.
Competition Schedule
Online Qualification: October 17th — 18th; the top ten scoring teams qualify for the final.
On-site Final: December 5th-6th; the qualified teams are invited to Taiwan for the final.
Prizes
First place: US$10,000 and an award certificate.
Second place: US$5,000 and an award certificate.
Third place: US$2,000 and an award certificate.
Organizer HITCON Team’s Major Achievements in 2014-2015
1st place of BCTF 2014 (China) 2nd place/4th place of DEF CON 22/23 CTF (U.S.) 2nd place of ITB CTF 2014 (Malaysia) 2nd place of SECCON CTF Final 2014 (Japan)
