Lessons from the Field: Practical Frameworks for CTF Competition Success

Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions have become increasingly popular over the previous decade. This research aims to systematically approach organizing CTF competitions by developing two frameworks. The first framework utilizes design science research with a stakeholder approach to generate a definition of success. By defining success, an actionable set of design principles was derived to guide competition organizers. These design principles are structured to provide actionable insight to organizers to help solve the multi-objective problem of stakeholder requirements. The second framework identifies the challenge development life cycle through a temporal approach while describing the current best practices in challenge development. These models were then evaluated through a CTF competition case study hosted for an intra-collegiate audience. This competition utilized both frameworks to assess them in a critical light. To our knowledge, this paper is the first to provide a design science approach for hosting a successful CTF. Based on the findings, a brief discussion on refining the frameworks and potential areas for improvement is provided.