The SANS Holiday Hack Challenge is back! • The Register

Webinar Whether you are considering a career in cyber security or you already work in the industry, the 2023 SANS Holiday Hack Challenge is a great way of combining festive fun and learning. Who knows, the skills you acquire this holiday season might even help you foil a nefarious hacker at Yuletide next year.

That’s important because some reports reckon that Christmas and New Year is one of the most dangerous times of the year for cyber attacks, as cyber criminals ramp up their effort to exploit workers rushing to meet holiday deadlines and spend more time shopping on the internet during work hours. Phishing scams related to fake charity campaigns, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, and credential stuffing incidents that take advantage of staff Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) fatigue are all favourite seasonal scams for example.

Learning how to combat those threats is essential for the cyber security practitioner. The SANS Holiday Hack Challenge is designed for everyone – regardless of skill set or experience level – and offers a prize at the end of the competition for the best of the best entries. This year’s event – Holiday Hack Challenge 2023: A Holiday Odyssey – involves tasks that cover everything from AI-assisted cybersecurity, offense, defense, and AI voice cloning to cloud and web application security, threat hunting, phishing analysis, and the identification of vulnerabilities in space mission software packages.

You can join the fun here. You’ll see a YouTube video presented by Ed Skoudis, Director of the Holiday Hack Challenge, which gives you a sneak peek as to what expect while offering some ideas, tips, and tricks that could help you win the competition. There are also some festive, cyber security-themed tunes and beats to sing along with to get you in the mood.

Click here to start playing now.