Area 41 Challenge – An Innovative Approach from CLUE
The Innovative Locker
We came up with something very special for this year’s Area 41 event, one of the most important events in the Swiss cybersecurity community, where we were able to participate as a sponsor. Our specially designed locker was a highlight at our stand. It consists of four compartments, each with a door with an electronically controllable magnetic lock.
Materials and Design
Each door is fitted with a magnetic lock that is attached to a specially designed 3D-printed chassis. This innovative solution allows us to control the doors remotely, which played a central role in our overall stand concept.
All doors were equipped with a spring mechanism so that the door pops open as soon as it is activated. Behind each of these doors were different goodies that visitors could win.
Interactive Use at the Event
The locker was not only a visual highlight, but also a central component of our interactive stand concept. Participants at our stand were able to register using a QR code and gain access to our challenge platform developed especially for Area 41. On this platform, they found a variety of challenges that had to be solved. Each of these challenges was designed to test and expand the participants’ knowledge and skills in the field of cybersecurity. This allowed participants to collect points which they could then redeem for prizes.
Tasks included code reviews, OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) challenges and much more. Each challenge was carefully designed to suit both beginners and seasoned experts.
Advantages for the Participants
Participation in our challenges offered visitors to the Area 41 event numerous benefits. Not only could they expand their knowledge and skills in the field of cybersecurity in a fun way, but they could also win attractive prizes. The concept of the locker and the interactive challenges made our stand a popular meeting point and ensured a high number of visitors.
The variety of tasks ensured that there was something for everyone. Whether beginner or expert – every participant was able to take on the challenges and collect points.
The feedback we received at the Area 41 event was overwhelmingly positive. Many visitors took part in our challenges and praised the variety and difficulty of the tasks. The innovative idea of the locker and the ability to open the doors remotely were highlighted in particular.
Points and Prizes
Depending on the level of difficulty of the challenges, participants received a different number of points. These points could then be collected and exchanged for attractive prizes by opening the doors of the locker from the comfort of the player’s cell phone. This made the whole process not only innovative, but also very user-friendly.
The prizes hidden behind the doors ranged from small gadgets to a grand prize: a CHF 300 voucher for World of Games. This prize structure motivated the participants to give their best and prove their skills.
Challenges During Construction
Building the locker presented us with a number of challenges. The integration of the locking mechanism was particularly tricky. For example, it turned out that the glue used was not strong enough to hold the magnet at first, especially as the magnet heated up after a certain time. This challenge forced us to get creative and find alternative solutions. In the end, however, we were able to develop a robust and reliable mechanism that met the requirements of the event.
Another challenge was coordinating the various technical components. From 3D printing the chassis, to programming the Raspberry Pi, to linking the locker to the developed challenge platform in the cloud, different elements had to work together perfectly. This required close collaboration between our entire team and once again demonstrated the strength of our internal communication and coordination.
Future Prospects
In the future, we plan to use the locker at other events. Thanks to its flexible design, we can easily load new challenges onto the platform and reuse the locker. This makes it a sustainable and versatile tool that helps us get our message across in a fun way.
However, our plans go even further. We want to develop the locker further and integrate additional functions that make it even more interactive and user-friendly. For example, extensions that make it possible to set even more complex tasks or offer participants more feedback and support are conceivable.
With this blog post, we have tried to give you a comprehensive insight into our innovative locker and our activities at the Area 41 event. We hope that we have piqued your interest and that you would like to learn more about our work. If you have any questions or would like further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are always at your disposal and look forward to hearing from you.
