Eugenio Benincasa
A Walking Red Flag (With Yellow Stars)
APT40 used CTFs at Hainan University to recruit hackers and source software vulnerabilities for operations. Jiangsu MSS received vulnerabilities from the Tianfu Cup. iSoon hosted their own CTF before their files were leaked on Github. Chinese intelligence cutouts tried to pitch US participants at RealWorldCTF. The list goes on.
A diverse ecosystem of CTFs exists in China and it has, until now, been largely ignored. Since 2017 when the PRC government issued rules to bolster cybersecurity competitions, incorporate them into talent cultivation and training programs, and limit the amount of money to be paid out in rewards, China’s security ecosystem has launched more than 150 unique competitions. Including competitions that are held annually, the number of events since 2017 exceeds 400.
Not all these competitions are software vulnerability competitions like Tianfu Cup—in fact, few are. Most are aimed at talent cultivation and recruiting, and many are hosted by the military, the intelligence services, or other arms of the state.
This talk will leave attendees with an understanding of the diversity of China’s CTF ecosystem, its major leagues and events, and the annual number of participants across society. It will highlight some competitions held expressly by the Ministry of State Security and the PLA—delving into the competitions’ particulars. Defenders with appropriate CTI collection capabilities will better understand how to target their collection efforts on specific individuals in China.
Eugenio Benincasa is a Senior Cyberdefense Researcher at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich. Prior to joining CSS, Eugenio worked as a Threat Analyst at the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers in Rome and as a Research Fellow at the think tank Pacific Forum in Honolulu, where he focused on cybersecurity issues. He also worked as a Crime Analyst at the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Eugenio holds a MA in International Affairs from Columbia University and a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from LUISS University in Rome.
