ATENEA is a cyber security platform that presents a number of challenges which cover a wide array of topics: Cryptography and Steganography , Exploiting, Forensics , Networking and Reversing , etc. ATENEA has been developed by the CCN-CERT, the Computer Emergency Response Team of the National Cryptologic Centre, CCN, under Spain’s National Intelligence Centre, CNI. This service was created in 2006 as the Spanish Government’s CERT. The challenges are aimed at anyone interested in cybersecurity. The main goals are as follows: Raising awareness among IT personnel about cybersecurity risks. Engaging those experienced in IT security. Proving to those who are less skilled at IT security that these challenges can be fun and that cybersecurity is not a secret science that they will never understand.

Rules
By registering at the platform you will be accepting the following rules:

1. Solving a challenge worth X points will give you X points. If you solve the challenge first, your name will appear on the scoreboard with a mention of a gold medal.The player who ranks second receives a mention of a silver medal. The third gets a mention of a bronze medal, and the remaining players just get the corresponding points.
2. If you reach the maximum number of attempts to solve a given challenge, you may try again, although you will score no points.
3. Denial of Service attacks are not allowed.
4. Automated scans against the platform are not allowed.
5. Destructive attacks are not allowed (do not modify any challenge, because this will affect the game of other players).
6. If you detect any vulnerability in our infrastructure or any shortcut to solve a challenge more easily, please report to [email protected] and you will get acknowledgement and bonus points.
7. Organizers may change the rules in the course of the challenge.
8. Occasionally, depending on the number of players who have solved a given challenge and the amount of time required, additional clues may be provided.
9. Publishing the solution of challenges is not allowed. However, solutions to the challenges already withdrawn may be published (non-scoring challenges)
10. Players who break any of the rules above may be penalized or permanently expelled from the platform.

Last, the most important rule … Enjoy every challenge that we have prepared!

Solution to challenges
The solution to the challenges (flag)has been standardized with the following format:

flag{md5}

Let’s picture, for example, that you have obtained the string Atenea1337 as the solution to a given challenge. You need to calculate its md5, and inputit between flag{ and } before submitting it to the platform.

In the case of the previous string, the procedure would be as follows:

• Calculate the md5 of the string Atenea1337: f3ac2c5e9137453a2252e77b8d6c75f4
• Add flag{at the beginning: flag{f3ac2c5e9137453a2252e77b8d6c75f4
• Add} at the end: flag{f3ac2c5e9137453a2252e77b8d6c75f4}

Input flag{f3ac2c5e9137453a2252e77b8d6c75f4} as the solution to the challenge.

This procedure can be carried out in Linux using the following command:

If you have no experience in cybersecurity, you are advised to begin by the challenges included in the Basic category.