🇹🇼 HITCON Cyber Range

HITCON Cyber Range is one of Taiwan's benchmark challenges for Blue Teams, testing not only technical depth but also the limits of teamwork and on-the-spot reaction. Through HITCON Cyber Range, you will: Experience the most realistic cybersecurity incident response processes. Hone investigation skills to uncover the truth from subtle clues. Enhance practical defense capabilities against real-world threats.

Organisations

Advising Organisation: Administration for Digital Industries, Ministry of Digital Affairs Organisers: Association of Hackers in Taiwan (HIT) / Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)

Competition Description

The HITCON Cyber Range competition will proceed in two main stages: first, the Global Online Qualifiers, followed by the On-site Finals held in Taiwan. Participating teams must pass the challenges of the Online Qualifiers to be eligible for the Finals.

Important Dates (All times are UTC+8)

Registration Deadline: June 30, 2025 (Monday) 23:59 Global Online Qualifiers: July 18, 2025 (Friday) 10:00 - 23:59 (14 hours total) Announcement of Finalists and Details: September 1, 2025 (Monday) Offline Finals & Award Ceremony: October 17, 2025 (Friday)

Finals Qualification Rules

A minimum of 10 teams are expected to advance to the Finals. Qualification slots include: - Top 5 domestic corporate teams from the Online Qualifiers. - 2 teams recommended by F-ISAC. - 3 reserved slots for international teams. - On-site Finals & Award Ceremony Venue

Venue: Taipei New Horizon Building, 6F Function Room - Address: 6F, No. 88, Yanchang Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Contact Information

• If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the HITCON Cyber Range team via Email: cyberrange@hitcon.org

Awards and Recognition

I. Qualifiers Teams that meet the eligibility criteria and fully participate in the "Online Qualifiers" will each receive one HITCON Cyber Range digital certificate of participation.

II. Finals Ranking Awards - Teams that advance to the Finals and finish in the top-three will receive trophies and cash prizes: - Champion (1st Place): One team trophy + Prize money: USD $3,000 - Runner-up (2nd Place): One team trophy + Prize money: USD $1,500 - Third Place: One team trophy + Prize money: USD $600

III. Exclusive Benefits for Finalist Teams All teams successfully advancing to the "On-site Finals" will enjoy the following exclusive benefits: - Exclusive Souvenirs: Special HITCON Cyber Range memorabilia representing honor and the journey. - Finals Participation Certificate: Issuance of individual and corporate certificates for Finals participation. - Team Performance Report: A detailed post-competition analysis report provided to aid in review and growth. - Networking Party Seats: Five (5) seats provided per team for the post-competition networking dinner to interact with cybersecurity experts and peers.

IV. Award Ceremony - The award ceremony will be held immediately following the conclusion of the Offline Finals competition segment, celebrating and recognizing the winning teams.

Registration Details

I. Eligibility Criteria To ensure the competition focuses on enhancing practical internal cybersecurity defense capabilities within enterprises, participating teams must meet the following qualifications:

• Team Composition: 1. Each team may have a maximum of 4 members. 2. One member must be designated as the team captain and primary contact. 3. This person may be a team member or a non-participating individual.

• Affiliation Requirements: 1. All members must belong to the same company or organization. 2. Cross-company/organization teams are strictly prohibited. 3. This competition does not allow teams formed by individuals participating in a personal capacity.

• Company/Organization Eligibility Restrictions: 1. Enterprises/organizations registering must not have their primary core business in providing external cybersecurity consulting, cybersecurity products, managed security services, or related professional cybersecurity services (i.e., they must not be cybersecurity Vendors / MSSPs / Consultant Firms). The competition aims to enhance the defensive and response capabilities of non-cybersecurity industries themselves. 2. A single enterprise/organization (based on its Tax ID number or specific legal entity) is limited to registering only one representative team. If multiple teams from the same enterprise are interested in participating, they must complete internal coordination beforehand to nominate a single representative team. If multiple registrations from the same enterprise appear in the system, the organizers will recognize the team that 'first completed the registration process' according to system records as the official participant representative. No further coordination will be undertaken by the organizers.

II. Registration Schedule (All times are UTC+8) - Registration Deadline: June 30, 2025 (Monday) 23:59 - Eligibility Review Notification: Team captains will be notified of the review results via Email, expected by July 11, 2025 (Friday).

III. Registration Method - Registration Platform: 1. This competition uses online registration exclusively. Please complete the registration process on the KKTIX registration system during the registration period. 2. Registration Link: hitcon.kktix.cc/events/hitcon-cyberrange-2025 Review and Notification: 3. The organizers will conduct eligibility reviews after the registration deadline based on the criteria mentioned above. 4. Review results (regardless of approval status) and subsequent pre-competition notices, important information, etc., will all be sent via Email to each team captain.

Competition Format and Rules

HITCON Cyber Range aims to simulate realistic cybersecurity attack and defense scenarios and is divided into two stages: "Online Qualifiers" and "On-site Finals".

Stage 1: Online Qualifiers

• Core Focus: Incident Investigation and Threat Identification 1. This stage is conducted online and primarily assesses the team's cybersecurity incident investigation and analysis capabilities. 2. Participating teams need to analyze various forms of digital evidence provided by the organizers (e.g., network traffic, server logs, endpoint activity records) to uncover hacker traces, identify real attack incidents, and find key Indicators of Compromise (IOCs).

• Recommended Skills: 1. Familiarity with log interpretation for common operating systems (Windows/Linux) and network devices (Firewall/Proxy). 2. Ability to read and understand SQL query syntax and PowerShell scripts. 3. Understanding of common hacker techniques and the ability to apply the MITRE ATT&CK® framework for analysis.

• Procedure: 1. Format: Online challenges. 2. Time: July 18, 2025 (Friday) 10:00 to 23:59 (UTC+8, 14 hours total). 3. Accounts: Each team will receive 4 login accounts for members to solve challenges online concurrently. 4. Environment: Using the latest version of Chrome or Edge browser is recommended for the best experience.

• Advancement to Finals: 1 .Qualifier scores will be ranked based on points earned and completion time. Top-ranking teams will advance to the On-site Finals.

Stage 2: On-site Finals

• Core Focus: Comprehensive Incident Response Practice 1. This stage is an on-site competition designed to test the team's overall cybersecurity Incident Response (IR) capabilities under the pressure of a simulated enterprise environment. 2. Tasks include: Alert analysis, in-depth attack chain investigation, and formulating and actually implementing response measures (e.g., isolating compromised hosts, removing malware, patching system vulnerabilities, strengthening security settings).

• Recommended Team Composition: 1. The Finals challenges are diverse. It is recommended that team members possess complementary professional backgrounds and practical skills, including: 2. IT Operations and System Administration (Server, Network, AD/DC Management) Application Security and Management 3. Cybersecurity Expertise (SOC Monitoring & Analysis, Incident Response IR, Digital Forensics)

• Procedure: ​​​​​​​ 1. Format: On-site competition held at the designated venue. 2. Time: (UTC+8) October 17, 2025 (Friday) 10:00 to 16:00 (UTC+8, 6 hours total). (Detailed competition schedule, will be notified to finalist teams before the event). 3. Venue: Taipei New Horizon Building, 6F Function Room(6F, No. 88, Yanchang Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City). 4. Detailed procedures for the Finals competition, operating environment, scoring criteria, and important notes will be informed separately to the qualifying teams before the Finals.

Prohibited Actions

To maintain the fairness and integrity of the competition, all participating teams and members must adhere to the following rules. Violators may face immediate disqualification from participation or award eligibility: - Any action undermining the fairness of the competition is prohibited: This includes, but is not limited to, exchanging, leaking, purchasing, or disseminating solutions (Flags), hints, or solving methods in any form between teams. - Attacking or disruptive behavior is prohibited: Strictly forbidden are any forms of network attacks, malicious scanning, denial-of-service attacks, or unauthorized access attempts against the competition platform, related infrastructure, staff, or other participating teams. - Prohibition of participating in multiple teams: Each participant may only register for and represent one team. - The organizers reserve the final right to determine and act upon any violations.

Important Notes

Registrants are required to carefully read the following consent forms:

• Association of Hackers in Taiwan (HIT) and Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) Personal Data Collection, Processing, and Use Notification and Consent Form
• Administration for Digital Industries, Ministry of Digital Affairs Personal Data Collection, Processing, and Use Notification and Consent Form