Over The Wire Write Ups

The Over The Wire site offers cybersecurity challenges that test participants’ skills in areas like cryptography, reverse engineering, web exploitation, and more. The games are hosted on online servers and are designed to be accessible to a wide range of skill levels, from beginners to experienced cybersecurity professionals.

Games often start with basic challenges that gradually increase in difficulty, allowing participants to learn and improve their skills progressively. Despite their technical nature, the queries can be incredibly fun and rewarding. The thrill of solving a puzzle brings in an enjoyable sense of accomplishment.

Who Plays?

Anyone interested in learning more about cybersecurity while improving their skills in hands-on manner. Beginners benefit from these challenges as they provide a structured way to learn about different aspects of cybersecurity in a safe environment. More experienced individuals use them to sharpen their skills and stay up-to-date with the latest techniques and technologies.

How-To Play?

You need a computer with an internet connection. Most games require you to access using an SSH Client. For improved flexibility and the benefit of the added security layer, you might play through a virtual machine (such as VirtualBox) running any Linux distribution (such as Linux Mint). Both pieces are free and open source and available for download in their official websites. There are lots of tutorials and guides about setting up such an environment.

About the write-ups

Write ups are reviews or accounts about the process involved in resolving the game’s tasks. While it’s important to respect the rules of wargames, which explicitly advise against posting solutions, having write-ups available on the internet can be valuable. Simply looking at solutions without attempting to solve the challenges yourself completely defeats the purpose of learning through problem-solving.

However, knowing that you may not be able to solve a particular puzzle and having access to help can be beneficial. It is also very enjoyable reading other people’s solutions after doing yours. They provide insights into alternative approaches and techniques for solving similar challenges. The key is to strike a balance between using resources to learn and grow, and respecting the rules and spirit of the wargame.