THcon 2023: A Cybersecurity Conference and CTF in Toulouse

Are you a cybersecurity enthusiast who missed THcon 2023 and its CTF? Or are you curious about what happened at this amazing event that took place in Toulouse, France from April 20 to 22, 2023? If so, you are in the right place. In this article, I will give you a recap of the highlights of THcon 2023 and its CTF. I will also show you why you should attend the next edition in 2024.

What is THcon and its CTF?

THcon is a cybersecurity event organized by the Toulouse Informatique Sécurité et Associatif (TISA) association. It aims to bring together hackers, researchers, students, professionals and enthusiasts from all over the world to share their passion and knowledge on cybersecurity.

The event features two days of talks, a social event and a CTF (Capture The Flag) in person. The talks cover various and current topics, such as hardware hacking, firmware analysis, secret extraction in CI/CD systems, attacks against online games, Android security model or the challenges of connected vehicle security. The speakers are recognized experts in their fields, such as Travis Goodspeed, Axelle Apvrille or Damien Cauquil.

The social event is an opportunity for the participants to network and have fun in a friendly and festive atmosphere. It is also the occasion to award the prizes for the challenge that takes place during the talks.

The CTF is a hacking competition that consists of solving cybersecurity challenges. For example, exploiting a vulnerability in an electronic device, extracting hidden data in a memory image, finding weaknesses in an encryption protocol and much more. The CTF takes place at ENSEEIHT on the third day of the event and is open to all levels. The winning teams win prizes such as hacking equipment, t-shirts and other surprises.

Highlights of THcon 2023 and its CTF THcon 2023 and its CTF were full of memorable moments that made this edition a success. Here are some of them:

• The opening keynote by Travis Goodspeed. He shared his experience and insights on hacking hardware devices, such as radios, microcontrollers or smart cards.
• The talk by Axelle Apvrille. She showed how to analyze firmware images using static and dynamic techniques. For instance, reverse engineering, emulation or fuzzing.
• The talk by Damien Cauquil. He demonstrated how to attack online games using various tools and methods. For example, packet sniffing, proxying or cheating.
• The social event on Thursday evening. Participants enjoyed music, drinks and food while chatting with each other and with the speakers.
• The award ceremony for the challenge that took place during the talks. The challenge was to find hidden flags in different web pages related to THcon. The first three teams who found all the flags won prizes such as books or vouchers.
• The CTF on Saturday at ENSEEIHT. More than 600 participants from 12 countries faced various and stimulating challenges in the field of cybersecurity.
• Congratulation to the Synacktiv team, ENSEEIHT team and GCC–ENSIBS team for the podium and also to every team that participated ! 👏 You can learn more about GCC-ENSIBS on their LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gcc-ensibs

Partners and sponsors of THcon 2023 THcon is supported by several partners and sponsors who contribute to make this event possible. Among them are:

• Freemindtronic: an Andorran company specialized in cybersecurity and safety of computer systems. Freemindtronic actively participates in the hardware CTF of THcon. You can discover the backstage of the hardware CTF of THcon 2022 in this video made by Jacques Gascuel, the CEO of Freemindtronic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Es2RJUQBo
• Synacktiv: a French company that provides offensive security services and solutions. Synacktiv also organizes trainings on various topics related to cybersecurity.

ENSEEIHT: a French engineering school that offers courses on computer science, electronics, telecommunications and applied mathematics. ENSEEIHT hosts the CTF of THcon on its premises.

Among the prizes offered by Freemindtronic, silver sponsor of THcon since 2022, there are four NFC HSM DataShielder Lite collector devices, a unique version made for THcon CTF 2023. These devices are password and bank card managers that work without a battery and offer secure, decentralized and individualized management of sensitive data.