A group of students from the Institute of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at USP in São Carlos has been excelling in events in the field since 2023, and recently achieved the top position in Latin America.

Text: Matheus Martins / Translation: Jonathas Carvalho – https://jornal.usp.br/?p=793651 – Published: 08/22/2024

Ganesh Group in one of the competitions – Photo: Ganesh/ICMC USP

The Ganesh University Extension Group, affiliated with the Institute of Mathematical and Computer Sciences (ICMC) at USP in São Carlos, is an example of how combining study and technology competitions yields good results. Amid academic priorities, the team of students from the Computer Science and Information Systems courses has been excelling in digital security competitions, recently reaching first place in Latin America after achieving significant results in international contests.

The team has specialized in competitions known as Capture the Flag (CTFs), which are online games that challenge participants (whether companies in the field, enthusiasts, or student groups) to solve problems related to information security, with the primary objective of capturing a flag (usually a code).

Founded in 2016, the group currently has about 100 members and has been participating in CTFs since 2019. In its first season, the group was the 8th best Brazilian team in CTFtime, a kind of ranking created by the global security community to organize and publicize events and rank participants in a list format. The following year, the team climbed to 5th place. From 2021 to 2023, Ganesh remained the 3rd best team in the country in world circuit security competitions. This season, the group made a considerable leap and is currently the best in Brazil and Latin America in CTF performance. To give an idea of the achievements of the São Carlos team, Ganesh is currently the 134th best team in the world out of a total of 38,575 ranked teams.

In 2023, the team participated in 13 CTFs, with the most notable result being qualification for the Brics + CTF finals, which brought together 25 teams from the countries in the bloc composed of South Africa, Brazil, Russia, China, and India, finishing in 10th place. Lélio Marcos Rangel Cunha, 20, participated in Ganesh for several semesters and recalls the team’s performance in the traditional Cyber Apocalypse 2023: The Cursed Mission, where the Brazilian team finished in 53rd place out of nearly 4,500 teams. Lélio, who is in his 6th semester of the Computer Science course, comments on how the process to join the group was: “When I joined ICMC in 2022, Ganesh made a presentation to us in the first week of classes. I participated in the selection process and joined the group. It was a very rewarding experience since I learned a lot about information security—a crucial area nowadays—and met experienced people in the field.”

Number 1 in Brazil

Group member presenting to other students – Photo: Ganesh/ICMC USP

During the first half of 2024, the ICMC group already competed in 16 events. In four CTFs, Ganesh finished at least in the top 20. In Cyber Apocalypse 2024: Hacker Royale, in March, the team considerably improved its performance and finished 36th, the only Brazilian team in the top 500.

Ganesh’s general coordinator, student Victor Rodrigues da Silva, sees the performance as a milestone for university teams and for Brazil, which has been increasing its relevance in the world of security games. “Finishing 36th in Cyber Apocalypse, a super-famous CTF with a massive number of participants (3,101 in total), is a significant achievement for Brazil. We were the only team in the country that finished in the top 500. This just shows how strong Ganesh is in the global scenario,” says the 21-year-old student, who is in the 8th semester of Computer Science at ICMC.

In the first half of this year, in January, Ganesh also stood out in Real World 6th, finishing 42nd out of nearly 1,100 international teams. “Our participation in Real World CTF 6th was of great relevance, as it is very difficult to compete in a game that deals with real-world vulnerabilities,” added Victor.

In terms of scoring, the ICMC team reached the pinnacle of the season at ångstromCTF 2024 at the end of May, obtaining outstanding scores. For the group’s general coordinator, the balance of participation so far has made its members extremely proud. “To reach this level of difficulty in these CTFs as an academic team, with people who have just entered college and were taking entrance exams not long ago, is spectacular. Finishing between 20th and 30th place in CTFs that offer prizes of up to $10,000 shows the level Ganesh has reached,” he celebrates.

The Future of Competitions

The team was founded in 2016 and is a reference in Latin America – Photo: Ganesh/ICMC USP

For the future, Ganesh intends to remain active in the competition circuit to pave the way for other academic teams interested in making their mark in the world of security tournaments. In addition, Victor hopes that the ICMC group’s name will solidify its relevance and expand its recognition within the cybersecurity community.

“We would like to reach the point where someone in the field in Brazil mentions Ganesh and knows who we are. For this, we are working on projects aimed at the public outside the university and will also hold events for the open community by the end of the year. We don’t just want to participate in the games, but also present and generate projects to be offered externally,” concludes the coordinator.

Follow Ganesh on Instagram and learn more about the group’s other channels by clicking here.

*Text by Matheus Martins, ICMC Communication Office.