Do you dream of becoming a cybersecurity expert but don’t know where to start?
Well here’s a place to start… Indeed, ANSSI has just set up a training platform which will allow you to train like a pro, free of charge and at your own pace.
Welcome to the fascinating world of Hackropolethe new playground for apprentice cybersecurity experts! It’s like a kind of virtual arcade where each ‘terminal’ would in fact be a technical cybersecurity challenge to overcome. From cryptography tests to forensics challenges to web exploitation, a real initiatory journey awaits you.
This platform has something special: it allows you to replay the events of the France Cybersecurity Challenge (FCSC)the national competition which selects the best French talents to represent our colors at the European Cybersecurity Challenge.
Now let’s talk technical. The platform offers several categories of tests, each corresponding to an essential cybersecurity skill:
Lovers of cryptography will be able to tackle cryptographic algorithms and protocols. You will have to analyze hash functions, understand elliptic curves or even decipher messages coded with twisted variants of RSA. Enough to fire up your neurons!
For the digital Sherlock Holmes, the section forensics will immerse you in digital investigation. You will learn how to analyze memory dumps, suspicious hard drives and even compromised smartphones. It’s like playing expert, but virtual version!
DIYers will appreciate the part hardware which covers electronics and radio signals. You can even try side-channel attacks, these analysis techniques that extract secrets by observing a device’s power consumption or electromagnetic emissions.
Programming enthusiasts are not left out with the category misc which brings together algorithmic, system administration and even industrial security challenges. It’s the technical catch-all where you never know what you’ll come across!
The section pwn will take you deep into mining binaries under Linux. You will learn how to spot and exploit vulnerabilities to gain privileged access. Be careful, however: these techniques must only be used within an ethical and legal framework!
Code archaeologists will love the part reverse engineering where you have to understand how compiled programs work. From Linux binaries to vintage game consoles, you’ll need to decompile and analyze all sorts of exotic architectures.
Finally, the section web will train you in the security of modern web applications. SQL injection, XSS, CSRF… you will discover classic vulnerabilities and their remedies.
The most interesting? All these events are classified by level of difficulty, from ‘intro’ for beginners to ‘★★★’ for experts. You can therefore progress at your own pace, starting with the basics before tackling more complex challenges.
Now, to participate, nothing could be simpler: go to the platform, create your account (or not, it’s optional), and get started! Docker is your best friend here because many events require launching isolated environments.
A little advice to get started, start with the tests marked ‘intro’. They are specially designed for beginners and will allow you to acquire the necessary basics. And don’t hesitate to join the community Discord to chat with other enthusiasts!
What if you ever get stuck on a test? Don’t panic! Once you have successfully solved it, you will have access to the solutions proposed by the community. This is an opportunity to learn new techniques and improve your approach.
In short, whether you are a student, a professional retraining or simply curious, you will definitely find what you are looking for here.
A big thank you to Lorenper for this excellent discovery!
Hackropole is here!
