In present times, the world is connected through technology. As a result of this, the security of nations in the digital world is something to be considered and taken care of.
In this effort, the Terrier Cyber Quest 2024 stands distinctive as a new paradigm in establishing cyber resilience and innovation prowess in India. Structured in the light of 75 years of Territorial Army, this exclusive national cyber warfare competition is being backed by the Territorial Army with CyberPeace, a first-of-its-kind competition in India.
A National-Level Cyber Challenge
Terrier Cyber Quest 2024 is not some fun trivia battle, it is a national challenge that aims to unite the brightest and strongest students and professionals from academia, business, and the cyber industry. The tasks of the challenge are to respond to urgent topics in the field of cybersecurity and offer the participants an opportunity to demonstrate their skills in dealing with national security issues with the goal of promoting innovation.
The scope of Terrier Cyber Quest 2024 aims to unify students, researchers, and professionals, all the participants are to provide fresh solutions to new threats occurring in the digital environment. Ranging from creating effective defense systems to ward off cyber threats, to building strategies that can tackle cyber threats, this challenge aims at making participants come up with more solutions that will make a positive impact on the national cybersecurity architecture of India.
An Opportunity for All
One of the reasons the Terrier Cyber Quest 2024 is unique is that it included people from diverse groups. Everyone from enthusiasts who study and experiment with technologies, to researchers working on the further evolution of cybersecurity, and active professionals who have already built a successful career, anyone can attend the event. The goal behind this is to fosters a pool of human resources in the field where every individual has a different approach towards a challenging problem associated with cybersecurity.
To put it in another way, modern cyber threat is no longer an IT problem requiring a technical solution but rather a matter of national security. When cyber warfare is considered a real possibility, the capacity to safeguard national infrastructures from cyber threats is crucial. To that end, Terrier Cyber Quest 2024 aims to directly take up these threats to the tandem of preserving the national interest and the vision of asserting the cyber borders of India.
Event Highlights and Challenges
Track 1: AeroQuest
The AeroQuest will be a part of Terrier Cyber Quest 2024 where drone racing will be at its prime with special emphasis on aerial surveillance and strategic movements. This is an exciting event where the main aim is to outmaneuver a competitor by flying through a complex course at high speed indefatigably until one can permanently outdo the other.
Challenge Overview
In this track, participants are presented with complicated paths that they need to follow in order to complete the drone race and demonstrate high pilot skills at maneuvering drones in the air. The competition will also focus on strategic planning as well as the technical aspects of the performance since pilots complete specific tasks at different checkpoints while operating a drone.
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Registration Process
Registration Starts: 9th September, 2024 to 20th September 2024.
Eligibility: Participants can apply individually or as a group of no more than three people.
As part of registration, contestants have to provide an 8 to 10-second-long video where the racer showcases their abilities using the Uncrashed FPV simulator, a game on Steam simulator. This will help in screening the most competent participants for the final event.
Human visual inspectors will be present at each checkpoint on the drone course with flags so that any drone pilot does not fail to see them. Measures will be ensured for the protection of the checkpoint inspectors.
Track 2: Capture The Flag (CTF)
The Capture The Flag (CTF) track allows the participants to show their knowledge of cyber security by defending the flag from the professional teams. Similar to a capture-the-flag event in technology but with the pressure of many layers of real cybersecurity problems and a timed event.
Registrations:
Participants will be required to insert their general and professional information in order to prove their credentials.
Participants must submit their cybersecurity profiles including Information about job exposure and academic qualifications associated with cyber security.
Points to any specialty certification or special badge the candidate has garnered in the field to underscore their expertise.
Participants can register themself by registering on www.cyberchallenge.in
Shortlisting and Screening
During the screening round, they will organize Jeopardy-style Capture The Flag (CTF) where the participants have to solve puzzles and programs with security glitches. The aim here is to find and take advantage of such weaknesses to find an alphanumeric code called a “flag” that is hidden in every problem.
Challenge Structure:
All the puzzles have a level of difficulty and participants will be rewarded depending on the level of difficulty of the puzzle solved.
In this regard, the point scores will be based on the number of points that the participants garner and how swiftly they can submit the flags.
Out of the distinguished few that will be featured in this shortlisting round, only the best among the best will proceed to the Grand Finale.
Final Round
The Grand Finale will be a 36-hour face-to-face event and will only involve the top fifteen contenders from the Screening round. During this phase, participants will face advanced challenges across multiple categories, testing their technical expertise in cybersecurity, their skills in problem-solving when working under time pressures, and their patience as they try to arrive at an answer. Meanwhile, the final challenge will be a search for the elite as winners of Terrier Cyber Quest 2024’s CTF event.
Track 3: Datathon
The Datathon challenge at Terrier Cyber Quest 2024 focuses on tackling one of the most pressing issues in cybersecurity today: Deepfakes and how to counter it. Given the impact of the manipulated media on public safety and digital ethics, solutions out there pose potential harm to society, this innovation challenge calls for the development of innovative solutions in real-time to counter these threats.
Key Objectives
Accuracy: Minimise the false negatives and ensure high detection accuracy across the multimedia.
Speed: The system has to understand, content, and produce relevant information with low latency, in terms of media.
User Interface: Design for the persons that will be using it including the cybersecurity professionals, the content moderators, and the law enforcement agencies.
Reporting: Prepare extensive reports in case a deepfake has been found, which shall also show the values of confidence as well as a description of the manipulation.
Registration:
Individuals may also get into the competition alone or create a team with up to three players.
During registration, teams must submit:
A be designed to be a Proof of Concept (PoC).
The explanation of their proposed solution is short and to the point.
Final Round Format
The final round will be a 36-hour event, during which participants are to ensure that the students bring in their working Proof of Concept (PoC) and build a working prototype from it.
Evaluation Criteria
Participants’ solutions will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Detection: Detect deepfakes with high accuracy while reducing false positives and negatives.
Real-time Analysis: Process and analyze media information in real or near real time to ensure early detection of deepfakes, particularly in live news broadcasts or social media platforms.
Mitigation: Create ways to reduce the impact of recognized deepfakes, such as watermarking legitimate content, notifying users or platforms, and giving verifiable evidence to dispute bogus information.
Scalability and Efficiency: Make sure the solution can be integrated into several platforms (social media, news outlets, and government organizations) without sacrificing performance.
Ethical considerations: Address ethical concerns about privacy, data consumption, and the possible misuse of the detection system. The solution should also follow legal guidelines and be flexible to changing requirements.
Special Recognition and Awards
Certificates and Medallions: At the end of the prize giving and competition the participants will be awarded with certificates and medallions.
Exciting Prizes: It is also important to note that the winners will stand to win the prospect of being given a chance to work with the Territorial Army for the nation.
About Territorial Army
The Territorial Army turned 75 this year and it has been a durable image of India’s defense and security forces that epitomizes courage, resilience, and patriotism. Intended and formed in the year of 1949 this particular formation of armed forces has been of great importance serving as a substitute to the regular army and providing valuable service both in the state of war as well as in the conditions of peace.
From the formation of the Territorial Army about seventy-five years back it has evolved into a very responsive form of military force not only for its role as a defense arm for the country but also for its participation in a number of nation-building processes. That is why members of this prestigious establishment are professionals, civilians, and reserve soldiers, who together with their military service have their civilian professions.
This platinum jubilee does credit to the TAP and is a fitting tribute to all those brave hearts who have pledged their service to the Territorial Army and the country at large through rigorous displays of professionalism, loyalty, duty, and discipline. Their contribution remains unalloyed and the self-sacrifice of future generations of citizens ready to defend their country as well as serve the general public good.
Territorial Army: 75th Anniversary of Service
The Territorial Army has been an integral part of India’s defense structure ever since it was first established 1949. These forces are known as the ‘Citizen’s Army’ where most of its members work in civil organisations while attending military part-time and play a vital role both in war and peace. The Terrier Cyber Quest 2024 emulates this while at the same time contributing to the next-generation capability via technology.
About CyberPeace
CyberPeace is an international organization with the primary function of enhancing cybersecurity. CyberPeace is a partner for this event that intends to render cyberspace safer by bringing partnerships and collaborations from all over the world to build awareness of cybercrimes and resilience.
CyberPeace’s mission aims at developing societies’ ability to counter cyber criminals and global cyber warfare threats. CyberPeace set up cooperation from diverse institutions as well as different disciplines and cultures in the ever-growing interconnectivity to serve one common entity, that is the threat posed by cybercriminals.
Their efforts are to reduce the risks of cyber-attacks, reduce openings for threats, and offer users with enough information to effectively protect against new threats. CyberPeace aims to build cyberspace that is safe, secure, and reliable but most importantly friendly to all users. Since CyberPeace is a non-profit organization it enlists personnel with different points of view and skills from every corner of the globe to enhance cybersecurity.
CyberPeace has firmly kept answers to such imminent practicality issues of the existing interconnectivity through its in-house activities, global sensitivity, and social welfare concerns. It remains as one of the prominent stakeholders of the cybersecurity arena today and remains steadfast in promoting the development of measures that would keep the internet a force for positive change in society.
By addressing some of the key concerns, which include cyber warfare, cyber fraud, cyber security, and cyber rights; CyberPeace greatly contributes to determining a safer cyberspace environment for citizens, enterprises, and countries.
The Terrier Cyber Quest 2024 is not only a contest but much more of what good and bright talents India has and will invest in protecting its cyber world and beyond. If you are a student, a researcher, or have a cybersecurity career, this is the time to contribute to the nation’s defense. Come and participate in the challenge, help build the nation’s cybersecurity, and get acknowledged by the Chief of Army Staff.
