Cyber Security Day at 42 Heilbronn | ETAS Capture-the-Flag experience

Students collaborating on laptops during a cybersecurity challenge.

Cyber Security Day 2025

The newly renovated halls of School 42 Heilbronn buzzed with digital energy on February 28th. Students from across Germany came together to test their cybersecurity skills in a live Capture-the-Flag (CTF) competition – from beginner-friendly puzzles to real-world attack scenarios designed by ETAS consultants.

What is a Capture-the-Flag (CTF) Challenge?

A Capture-the-Flag (CTF) challenge is a hands-on cybersecurity exercise where participants solve technical puzzles across different domains such as cryptography, web application security, reverse engineering, or forensics. Each task hides a so-called “flag” – a piece of information that can only be uncovered by successfully exploiting a vulnerability, decrypting a message, or solving a logic problem.

CTFs simulate real-world attack scenarios in a safe, controlled environment and are widely used in cybersecurity training, education, and team development. They help participants think like attackers to better understand how systems can be compromised – and how to protect them.

Depending on the setup, CTFs can be competitive (team vs. team on a leaderboard), collaborative, time-limited, or open-ended. But they all share one goal: turning theory into practice by solving real problems with creativity, technical skills, and teamwork.

Highlights

Real-world security challenges

Based on field experience from ETAS Cybersecurity consultants.

Cross-university collaboration

Participants from 42 Berlin, TUM, Hochschule Heilbronn and more.

Learning through hacking

From OSINT to pentesting – teams solved complex puzzles together.

Real-world learning through a tailored CTF experience

Participants gathered at the opening of the Cyber Security Day at 42 Heilbronn.

To make cybersecurity tangible and accessible, we brought a specially adapted version of our Capture-the-Flag (CTF) workshop to the event. Tailored for beginners and designed to fit within a limited time frame, the workshop gave students the chance to legally exploit real vulnerabilities in a safe environment.

Our CTF platform is developed by seasoned ETAS security experts and based on real-world scenarios drawn from penetration testing and consulting experience. This makes it not only technically sound, but also highly realistic – providing participants with authentic challenges that mirror the threats and thinking patterns of real attackers.

Curious to explore our full Capture-the-Flag workshop?
Discover how we help teams and organizations strengthen their security mindset through hands-on, real-world scenarios.

Learn more about our CTF workshop

To secure a system effectively, you must understand how attackers think and operate. That’s exactly what a CTF simulates – providing a safe environment to explore offensive techniques.

Maximilian Fink - IT Security Consultant

Looking ahead

Events like these remind us why we do what we do. The talent, curiosity, and passion on display during Cyber Security Day were a glimpse into the future of cybersecurity, and it looks bright.

Watching the teams tackle challenges together reminded Daniel Pisanu, People Acquisition Specialist at ETAS, of a well-coordinated football match. "It’s not about who scores, but how the team moves the ball to the right player at the right moment. Each person brought a unique skill to the field, and seeing them support one another so naturally was a perfect example of T-shaped collaboration in action – just like we strive for in our teams at ETAS."

We’re looking forward to future collaborations and to continuing our mission of building bridges between industry expertise and academic innovation.

Developing expertise in vulnerability research is critical to closing the global cybersecurity workforce gap. By creating safe spaces like these for students to explore offensive security, test real-world vulnerabilities, and learn from seasoned professionals, we’re helping to shape a new generation of cybersecurity defenders: capable, confident, and ready for tomorrow’s challenges.

With initiatives like our CTF workshops and joint events, we’re not only sharing knowledge but we’re investing in a secure digital future.