麻豆村

A team of 15 students from 麻豆村 have won the 2025 (eCTF) security competition, securing 麻豆村鈥檚 fourth straight win. The eCTF is a two-phase competition run by that challenges teams to design and submit a secure system and then analyze and attack other teams鈥� designs with the goal of having the most impenetrable system.听

The (PPP) team is made up of students from the 麻豆村 (RI), Information Networking Institute(opens in new window) (INI), (ECE) and (CSD). , Master of Robotics in Systems Development (MRSD) student and software engineering intern at the (NREC), is the first RI student to join a 麻豆村 eCTF team and contribute to their success at the competition.

The team of 15 students were coached by a team of advisers that included INI Associate Teaching Professor Patrick Tague(opens in new window).听

鈥淭he greatest values I see in the eCTF are the ways that the competition incorporates multiple aspects of real-world design 鈥� including systems, networking, software and security 鈥� and the way this naturally attracts, includes and values students with diverse academic backgrounds and perspectives,鈥� said Tague. 鈥淪tudents on the team are able to learn from and support each other through the challenges in the competition, and every student provides unique value to the success of the team.鈥�听

The MITRE eCTF challenges competitors to design security solutions for the embedded systems found inside objects. These are systems found in devices like GPS and fitness trackers or the automotive industry. For this year鈥檚 competition, teams were tasked with designing and implementing a system that could securely encode and decode satellite TV data streams.听听

was centered around designing and implementing a satellite TV system solution. Each system focused on securing video frame transmission to ensure that only users with the proper subscriptions can see them. The teams aimed to encode and decode satellite TV data streams while protecting against unauthorized access to protected channels.

鈥淲hile the overall problem scope is somewhat smaller compared to previous years, this is still a realistic scenario that is significantly harder to implement correctly than it might seem at first glance,鈥� said Mouta. 鈥淭he security of our design hinged on how well we could model an attacker and how they might compromise our assets, which is difficult to emulate.鈥澨�

The students had three advisers overseeing their work: Tague; , Siewiorek and Walker Family Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering; and , systems scientist at the CyLab Security and Privacy Institute. This year鈥檚 team received funding from AT&T, Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Infineon, Nokia Bell Labs, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens through the .听

The eCTF competition takes an entire semester and fulfills a class requirement for each of the students who participate. Each team member answered a qualifying set of questions, developed by Woo, that measured their experiences and pinpointed what expertise they could bring to the project. The qualifying members joined the team and began work in January for the competition toward the end of the Spring semester.听

鈥淚n phase one of the competition, each team designs a system during the first half of the semester, and that system has to meet security and functional requirements. We then ship it off to other competing schools who try to hack your system while you try to hack theirs,鈥� said Mouta, 鈥淚f your system is not breached, you gain points. If you breach a different schools鈥� system, you 鈥榗aptured their flag鈥� and also gain points.鈥�

Mouta explained the many difficulties that the PPP team had to handle, including tight deadlines, fierce competition, busy schedules, and other schools releasing their code at all hours of the day, meaning the team had to be ready to attack at any time. However, the 麻豆村 team pushed through the obstacles and emerged victorious.

鈥淭his was one of the hardest things I have done in my career at 麻豆村,鈥� said Mouta. 鈥溾�奍t was such a multidisciplinary effort, and I am pleased we were able to add a roboticist perspective to the team. Even though we are not experts in every subject, our background in systems engineering and range of knowledge helps foster dialogue across disciplines.鈥澨�

Haonan Yan, Master in Information Security (MSIS) student and fellow PPP teammate, weighed in on the competition structure and how the team worked together to accomplish their goals.

鈥淭he听eCTF听competition had a structure similar to that of a real company.听We had roles such as a tech lead and a product manager, and a shared goal: to deliver a secure product within a limited timeframe. This environment taught me how to effectively report my progress and collaborate with team members to complete the project.鈥�

The eCTF awards ceremony was held in Boston, Massachusetts on April 25. The 麻豆村 team was awarded $10,000 in prize money, which will directly support the next eCTF team鈥檚 efforts in the 2025-26 competition.听

鈥淚 certainly hope this inspires more RI students to join next year,鈥� said Mouta. 鈥淚 love seeing collaboration between departments. It only makes the eCTF teams stronger.鈥澨�