Department of Information Technology ITS Consistently Hosts Prestigious Cyber Security Competition Through CTF ARA 6.0

Surabaya, IT Journalistic — On Saturday (22/02), The Department of Information Technology at Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) successfully organized a prestigious cyber security competition through Capture The Flag (CTF) ARA 6.0. This competition attracted teams from various universities across Indonesia with a series of cyber security challenges that tested participants’ skills.

The top three champions of the CTF ARA 6.0 Final pose together after their achievement

In this event, teams from Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) dominated the winner’s podium by securing the top three positions. The “every villain is lmao” team, consisting of Sofyan, Haidar, and Rachel from ITB, successfully claimed first place. Second place was secured by the “Permanent Resident” team with members Dava, Dito, and Naufal, also from ITB.

“The problems in CTF ARA 6.0 were excellent for learning and testing skills,” said Sofyan from the first-place team. He also added that the problem setters from the Department of Information Technology at ITS are known to have a high reputation in the CTF community. “The CTF ARA problem setters are awesome, they’re well-known in the CTF community,” he added.

The CTF ARA competition organized by the Department of Information Technology at ITS has now entered its sixth edition, demonstrating consistency in providing a platform for students to develop their skills in cyber security. “The first time we participated in a national CTF competition was at ARA 4.0, if I’m not mistaken, February 2023,” recalled a participant from the Permanent Resident team.

The competition consisted of preliminary and final rounds with strategically arranged schedules. “The ARA 6.0 schedule also aligned with our activities, with the preliminary round happening during ITB’s holiday period, and the final round during the first week of the semester, so we weren’t busy and could attend the finals,” explained a member of the “Permanent Resident” team.

The atmosphere during the CTF ARA 6.0 Final.

Despite facing several challenges such as WiFi connection issues and unfavorable weather for participants from out of town, the competition ran smoothly thanks to prompt handling by the organizing committee from the Department of Information Technology at ITS. Participants traveling from Bandung endured a journey of approximately 10-11 hours by train.

The Head of the Department of Information Technology at ITS stated that organizing CTF ARA is part of the department’s commitment to advancing the field of cyber security in Indonesia. “We hope this competition can continue to be a platform for students to develop their skills in information security, which is increasingly crucial in this digital era,” he said.

The winners expressed plans to continue participating in future CTF competitions, hoping to achieve similar success. Meanwhile, “Awesome” was the single word that participants used to describe the organization of CTF ARA 6.0 by the Department of Information Technology at ITS.

IT Journalistic
February 28, 2025
Monika Damelia Hutapea