Snowfensive is excited to host the SAINTCON Vault contest this year once again! The Snowfensive team has been hard at work over the past two years redesigning and rethinking the contest. As a result, there have been some significant changes.
Complete overhaul of the physical infrastructure.
That’s right. We rebuilt the vault. We did this for two reasons:
To enable growth. We’ve standardized using commercial hardware and sizes to scale and grow additional challenges. However, we also did this to start discussions with vendors to see if we could demo their implementations. To make it fair for the vendors, we wanted to minimize any deficiencies when using the older infrastructure. Also, we are now able to have a commercial standard for individuals who want to get involved and submit secure door designs for future implementations! If that’s you, talk to us, please!
To resemble the real world. We wanted a contest that simulates accurate representations of things we’ve seen in the field during physical security penetration tests. To do that, we’ve increased the production value significantly by using full-size 4×8 wall panels, drywall, paint, and commercial doors and frames. We think that you’ll get a much better appreciation for the simulation.
New contest dynamic.
We’ve had fun with the ‘timed run’ method of holding the contest in the past years. However, those are gone now with this new version. While many will miss the echoes of JC’s screams throughout the conference, the new dynamic will allow people to compete whenever they want without needing to schedule anything. Here’s what we’ve done:
Teams can be as big as you like. However, be warned, the prize will be cash, so you can split it however you see fit.
Teams will have one captain; they will get ONE RFID tag assigned to their team for scoring purposes.
Each challenge door is externally-facing and can be approached at any time.
Once inside, there is a reader; scan your RFID tag against the reader, and your team receives the points.
Note: The reader locks out after the first scan and must be reset along with the door. The lockout prevents another team from trying to be sneaky and grab points after your team’s entry before the room is reset.
Note: There is nothing inside the rooms, no other doors, no additional lockboxes, so no need to linger.
Note: A door can only be scored once.
Each day we will be changing the configuration of the doors! This means the security will increase and therefore the difficulty and as such the points. If you miss a day, you’ll be unable get those points so make sure you stop by!
In summary, these changes have been put in place to ensure everyone has a chance to interact with the Vault contest regardless of their skill level.
New Challenges!
We wanted to give you a heads up of what you can expect on some of these doors, for those looking to prepare. However, please note that these items are subject to change.
Hinge Pins on all doors. Don’t try to take the hinges off; it won’t work, and these doors are HEAVY!
Lock Picking
Both Low and High-Frequency RFID
Kaba Simplex 1000
Trilogy T2
Bluetooth/WiFi Deadbolts
Request-To-Exit (REX) Sensor
Kaba X-09
Over/Under the door protection
Safecracking (we will have multiple difficulty levels (easy/medium/hard))
With all that being said, the Snowfensive team is excited to be back again and look forward to seeing everyone compete and try some of the challenges.
