Ask HN: Would anyone be interested in "Hacking Games"?

#1

Post by TallGuyShort » Sun, Jul 26, 2009, 6:00 PM UTC

It seems to me that most 'true' hackers are generally interested in what the rest of the world considers hacking (i.e. - breaking into computer systems) but think it is lame to do so maliciously. I couldn't agree more - and I had an idea. Maybe this is completely unoriginal, and maybe this is actually highly illegal or widely frowned upon - but that's why I'm throwing it out there for comment. I think it would be fun to set up a monthly competition where a server is set up, and contestants attempt to be the first to hack the box (and achieving a specific goal like replacing the home page, or something like that). I'd be willing to run the contests and provide all the hardware, etc... I was thinking a series of games could focus on various Linux distros, or various versions of Windows, etc...

So I'm posting this to see if there's much interest in running such a contest (say, once a month or so), and if there's comments as to the other implications of such a game. Obviously, DoS attacks would be strictly against the rules, so as not to cause any problems for my ISP. Any thoughts?

Re: Ask HN: Would anyone be interested in "Hacking Games"?

#2

Post by mahmud » Sun, Jul 26, 2009, 6:21 PM UTC

Those things existed since at least 1997. CyberArmy had their own contests like this and they promoted people into "ranks"; the whole place had a cheesy forum/bbs feel to it and it didn't take long before someone decided to put them out of their misery and rm -rf'ed them out of existence .. including the game server.

Anybody who is anybody probably will not like the patronizing student/teacher role and he would certainly despise the sanbox; it might not just be your vmware image, but also your webhost, their colocated box, and every other box in that datacenter, and perhaps a few more wifis within an earshot from there -- all might be sent to the abyss of server hell, and your good name immortalized in a lulzful lamer log.

Do not invite the curiousity of bored people with something to prove. Do something else with your time, instead.

Re: Ask HN: Would anyone be interested in "Hacking Games"?

#3

Post by rlm » Sun, Jul 26, 2009, 6:31 PM UTC

mahmud wrote: post #2

Those things existed since at least 1997. CyberArmy had their own contests like this and they promoted people into "ranks"; the whole place had a cheesy forum/bbs feel to it and it didn't take long before someone decided to put them out of their misery and rm -rf'ed them out of existence .. including the game server. Anybody who is anybody probably will not like the patronizing student/teacher role and he would certa…

Although I'd find it fun to have a sandbox, I have to agree with this. It's dangerous territory, and someone will think you need to be taken down for good.

Re: Ask HN: Would anyone be interested in "Hacking Games"?

#4

Post by inklesspen » Sun, Jul 26, 2009, 6:37 PM UTC

There's always Uplink: http://www.introversion.co.uk/uplink/2/

It's got UI and plot issues and could be improved upon. (For instance, it's sometimes quite hard to let the game know you did the mission.)

Re: Ask HN: Would anyone be interested in "Hacking Games"?

#5

Post by mahmud » Sun, Jul 26, 2009, 6:39 PM UTC

rlm wrote: post #3

mahmud wrote: post #2

Those things existed since at least 1997. CyberArmy had their own contests like this and they promoted people into "ranks"; the whole place had a cheesy forum/bbs feel to it and it didn't take long before someone decided to put them out of their misery and rm -rf'ed them out of existence .. including the game server. Anybody who is anybody probably will not like the patronizing student/teacher role and he would certa…

Although I'd find it fun to have a sandbox, I have to agree with this. It's dangerous territory, and someone will think you need to be taken down for good.

Don't fear being rm'ed, fear "tutoring" people on hacking. Anyone who is even remotely affiliated with the scene knows how offensive that is. The lady who ran the Happy "Mostly Harmless" Hacking site recived death threats, not to mention volumes of scatalogical rape-fantasy "fan fic".

Re: Ask HN: Would anyone be interested in "Hacking Games"?

#6

Post by profquail » Sun, Jul 26, 2009, 6:40 PM UTC

I've seen contests like this held before. As long as it's all your hardware, and the contest isn't causing the network to crash (like you said, rule out DoS attacks), I don't see why anyone would have a problem with it.

Re: Ask HN: Would anyone be interested in "Hacking Games"?

#7

Post by raffi » Sun, Jul 26, 2009, 6:48 PM UTC

Check out:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=hacker+wargames

http://www.nationalccdc.org/ http://isis.poly.edu/csaw/

Or my own work on the subject:

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA481288&Locati...

Re: Ask HN: Would anyone be interested in "Hacking Games"?

#8

Post by mpk » Sun, Jul 26, 2009, 8:15 PM UTC

A really good wargames sites used to be pulltheplug.org, I had some fun playing around there 5 years or so ago.

They seem to have moved to http://www.overthewire.org/wargames/ .

Re: Ask HN: Would anyone be interested in "Hacking Games"?

#9

Post by ygd_coder » Sun, Jul 26, 2009, 8:15 PM UTC

I've seen other websites and organizations do this. I think it's a great idea and a great way to build skills.

Re: Ask HN: Would anyone be interested in "Hacking Games"?

#10

Post by jlees » Sun, Jul 26, 2009, 8:27 PM UTC

Another context where you can take part in sandboxed, organised hacking contests -- sort of -- is some ARGs (alternate reality games). I've not seen anything recent that involved true hacking skills, but sometimes there can be some wonderfully fun puzzles (you know, beyond guessing that a fictional character's password is the name of their fictional pet). Laying the trail for these is also fascinating work.