Starting December 1st, immerse yourself in daily cybersecurity challenges for beginners and kickstart your career! Join McSkidy and Glitch to protect SOC-mas from the notorious Mayor Malware.
What is Advent of Cyber?
Advent of Cyber is your festive gateway to cybersecurity. Each day leading up to Christmas, you’ll face new bite-sized challenges that will test and expand your knowledge in cybersecurity.
Dive into the holiday fun and sharpen your skills by helping prevent Mayor Malware’s mischievous plans. Get ready for an exciting journey that promises thrills and growth for everyone! Each free cybersecurity challenge is accompanied by supporting resources and step-by-step video guides from your favorite YouTube creators, ensuring you’re never left out in the cold.
And with over $100,000 in prizes up for grabs, you have every reason to join the fun!
What You’ll Learn in Advent of Cyber 2024
Advent of Cyber covers a wide range of cybersecurity topics, so there’s something interesting and useful for everyone. Here are the key areas and skills you’ll master:
Penetration Testing
- Penetration testing methodologies and tools
- Finding and exploiting system vulnerabilities
- Privilege escalation and persistence techniques
- Reporting and remediation recommendations
Cloud Security
- Configuring and securing cloud services like AWS and Azure
- Identifying misconfigurations leading to data leaks
- Container security and orchestration with Kubernetes
- Compliance requirements and cloud security best practices
Log Analysis
- Centralized logging and event management
- Detecting anomalies and suspicious activities
- Using SIEM tools like Splunk and ELK Stack
- Developing correlation rules and security alerts
Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR)
- Collecting and preserving digital evidence
- Analyzing memory dumps, disk images, and network artifacts
- Reconstructing incident timelines
- Rapid incident response and identifying compromised hosts
Web Application Pentesting
- Understanding web application architecture and technologies
- Identifying and exploiting common vulnerabilities (SQL injection, XSS, etc.)
- Testing authentication and session management
- API security and application logic flaws
Each of these topics will be explored through a series of interactive challenges, allowing you to apply your newfound knowledge in practice. By the end of Advent of Cyber 2024, you’ll have built a strong foundation of cybersecurity skills and knowledge to confidently continue your journey.
Key Features of Advent of Cyber 2024:
- Daily interactive cybersecurity challenges for beginners
- Help protect SOC-mas from Mayor Malware’s evil plans
- Available for free to all TryHackMe users
- Over $100,000 in prizes for participants
- Supporting resources and video walkthroughs for each challenge
- Certificate of completion and badge for finishing all challenges
- Challenges available to complete until November 2025
This year in Advent of Cyber, you’ll assist McSkidy and Glitch in defending SOC-mas against Mayor Malware’s wicked schemes. Immerse yourself in the wondrous world of cybersecurity by completing daily festive exercises for beginners in the lead-up to Christmas!
Quick Start Guide
Starting your Advent of Cyber journey is easier than ever. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Sign up on the TryHackMe platform or log into your existing account.
- Navigate to the Advent of Cyber 2024 room and click “Join Room”.
- Unlock new challenges daily starting from December 1st. They will be released at 16:00 GMT each day.
- Carefully read the instructions for each challenge. They contain important directions and hints.
- Use the AttackBox – a convenient virtual machine with all the necessary tools. It’s available for free to all participants for 1 hour per day.
- For a deeper learning experience, deploy virtual machines for the challenges and practice your skills in a safe environment.
- If you’re an advanced user, you can connect to the labs via OpenVPN from your own computer.
- Explore additional materials, videos, and livestreams from experts to gain a better understanding of each topic.
- Upon completing all challenges, don’t forget to download your certificate of completion and participant badge!
- Share your achievements with friends and colleagues on social media using the hashtag #AdventOfCyber2024!
Participation Options and Available Resources
The TryHackMe platform provides Advent of Cyber participants with flexible learning options and essential tools:
🖥️ Convenient Web Interface
- Challenges, materials, and interactive elements accessible directly in your browser
- No additional software installation required on your computer
- Suitable for learning from any device at your own pace
🔧 AttackBox – Your Portable Lab
- Cloud-based Ubuntu virtual machine for completing challenges
- Contains all necessary tools and pre-configurations
- Available for free to all participants for 1 hour per day (unlimited for subscribers)
🎮 Practice Virtual Machines
- Specially prepared vulnerable environments for practicing skills
- Safe isolated environment simulating real-world systems
- One-click deployment and management directly from the challenge interface
🛡️ OpenVPN Connectivity
- Ability to work from your own computer by connecting to TryHackMe labs
- Detailed setup instructions for OpenVPN on various operating systems
- Advanced options for experienced users
📹 Educational Videos and Live Streams
- Step-by-step video tutorials for each challenge by knowledgeable experts
- Live streams with explanations and interactivity from the TryHackMe community
- Past stream recordings available for viewing anytime
The TryHackMe platform has taken care to make your Advent of Cyber experience as fruitful and enjoyable as possible, regardless of your skill level and learning preferences.
How to Win Prizes
To be eligible for the grand prizes, you need to answer questions in the Advent of Cyber 2024 challenges starting from Day 1 (Task 7). The more questions you answer, the more raffle tickets you’ll earn, increasing your chances of winning.
Each challenge is accompanied by a video walkthrough from popular cybersecurity YouTube creators. Among them are 0day, UnixGuy, Gerald Auger, Tyler Ramsbey, Bearded I.T. Dad, and many others.
If you complete every challenge, you’ll receive a certificate of completion and a special badge. Make sure to set your full name in your profile for it to appear on the certificate.
An unforgettable cybersecurity holiday awaits you, filled with knowledge, challenges, gifts, and great vibes! Join Advent of Cyber today and write your own success story! 🚀
