BadAdmin vs DC34 CTF

We welcome you as our new server admin. Unfortunately our servers are very prone to failure. So all you have to do is keep the server running and achieve the lowest possible server downtime. If a server fails, the server number is displayed and you have to switch the server back on otherwise the downtime becomes too high.

DC34 CTF is a capture-the-flag game built for DEF CON 34. Fourteen channels are dark. Your job is to light them up. Download before the con. The app locks until the convention opens. When the doors open at LVCC West Hall in Las Vegas on August 7, it unlocks and the game begins. FOURTEEN CHANNELS. ONE FINAL TARGET. Every channel is a different kind of puzzle. Some are cryptographic. Some are physical. Some require hardware your phone didn't know it would be using. No hints. No walkthrough. Figure it out. The challenges span XOR ciphers, steganography, DTMF tone analysis, radio direction finding, Bluetooth beacon hunting, geolocation, reverse image search, physical navigation, NFC, speech recognition, and more. Your phone's full sensor suite is in play — camera, microphone, GPS, accelerometer, compass, Bluetooth, NFC. PRIZES The first three players to complete all fourteen channels and claim the final flag receive physical prizes: gold, silver, and copper coins. Finishers four through thirteen get pins. Your rank is permanent — logged to the live leaderboard the moment you scan the hand. THE LEADERBOARD A live in-app finishers board tracks every player who completes the game, ranked by completion time. Watch it fill up in real time. THERE IS MORE The app has secrets that have nothing to do with the flags. Some people will find them. Most won't. REQUIREMENTS iOS 17 or later. Game Center must be enabled — the app authenticates silently at launch. Several challenges require network access, Bluetooth, NFC, location services, camera, and microphone. Grant permissions as the game asks for them or miss the challenges that need them. The app is locked until August 7, 2026 at 9:00 AM PT. Show up at DEF CON 34, LVCC West Hall, Las Vegas. You can play anywhere, but final flag unlocking prizes is only available in-person.