NSA Codebreaker 2024 Full Writeup (Tasks 0-7)
Background Foreign adversaries have long strived to gain an advantage against the might of the United States Armed Forces. While matching the USA on the battlefield is a costly and risky proposition, our adversaries are always looking for ways to balance the playing field. A serious and real threat is the infiltration and sabotage of military operations before the fight even breaks out. Fortunately, the NSA is always recruiting bright young individuals to help protect our country! In fact, a bunch of your friends graduated last year and have been busy at work in their Developmental Programs. You have returned to NSA on your final Cooperative Education tour and are visiting your friend Aaliyah who is currently employed full-time in the Intelligence Analysis Development Program. Intelligence Analysts are always scouring through collected Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) for threat indicators. Aaliyah recently attended a briefing that highlighted Nation-State Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) targeting our Defense Industrial Base (DIB) contractors. Disclaimer: The challenge content is a PURELY FICTIONAL SCENARIO created by the NSA for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES only. The mention and use of any actual products, tools, and techniques are similarly contrived for the sake of the challenge alone, and do not represent the intent of any company, product owner, or standards body. Any similarities to real persons, entities, or events is coincidental. ...