Hey all! It's probably not a surprise that this has been one of our most chaotic terms ever! Thankfully, we've been able to keep going with our regular meetings, just like always, even though we've moved online.
We kicked off the term with our Linux Installfest, using our Discord server to help manage all the different setups that everyone wanted. After that, we went through an introduction to hacking, understanding Linux, and attacking websites. Of course, we've continued our virtual pub trips, learning and playing various party games, such as Codenames, Wavelength and even Geoguessr online!
We've also continued taking part in our signature Capture The Flag (CTF) competitions, though it's been trickier than ever to find the time to fit them in! We took part in the HackTheBox Uni CTF, coming 16th out of 180 university teams and 2nd out of all UK teams, netting us a place in the upcoming finals which we're all looking forward to! We've also taken part in D-CTF again, and we're hoping to have a go at another one over the Christmas break at some point :)
Just this last Wednesday we held our last session of this term, our Christmas session, crowdsourcing all the challenges from within our own member base. We hacked Santa's password manager, ran programs disguised as a Christmas Carol and investigated a terrifying web server running bizarre software. Yes, it was actually about as bizarre as it sounds.
Next term, we're looking forward to continuing our regular sessions, hopefully doing incredibly well in the HackTheBox finals, and running our very own WhatTheCTF competition again for the 3rd time!
Merry Christmas to you all, and have a happy new year!
To find out more about AFNOM visit their website www.birmingham.ac.uk/eps/afnom.
There are 42 student groups in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. To learn more about their projects and activities head to www.birmingham.ac.uk/eps-societies.