TCS HackQuest 2024 – TCS Cyber Security Unit is looking for students and enthusiasts who have a passion
for ethical hacking and in general securing the digital future of organizations engaged in transacting
millions of data points across the world. Embrace the opportunity in Season 8 to participate, chase your
dreams, and emerge victorious with prizes worth up to INR 5 lakhs.
The education qualification
for this
contest are B.Tech/M.Tech/BCA/MCA/BSc/MSc. Interested candidates can register on or before 24 January
2024. Gain an interview opportunity with TCS Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, along with
certifications of merit and exclusive merchandise for top performers. The details of eligibility and
competition are given below.
About the contest: HackQuest started in 2016 to unearth talents who excel in playing their favorite game
– Catch the Flag! Based on the popular ‘Catch the Flag’ (CTF) format, the contest presents challenges to
be completed in 6 hours. The set of challenges will be presented in 3 categories- 1. Beginner, 2-
Intermediate, 3-Expert. The participants are free to choose challenges from distinct categories and are
encouraged to attempt all challenges across all categories and demonstrate their ability to handle
different scenarios. In the end, associates are awarded special prizes and potential job offers from TCS
in the cybersecurity unit.
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Detailed Eligibility Criteria :
Educational Qualification:
The Contest is open to students (enrolled in any recognized college /university / academic institute) in
India who will be graduating in the academic year 2024 with any of the following degrees in any
specialization:
Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech)
Bachelor of Engineering (B.E)
Master of Technology (M. Tech)
Master of Engineering (M.E.)
Bachelor of Computer Applications (B.C.A.)
Master of Computer Applications (M.C.A.)
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. – B.S.)
Master of Science (M.Sc. – M.S.)
TCS reserves the right to take necessary steps and seek any relevant documents to verify the eligibility
of the participants mentioned above.
The contest will be considered void if participation in the contest and/or conducting the contest is
prohibited by law.
Participants trained in the below security domains will have an added advantage while participating
in the contest:
Application Security
Network security
Java/J2EE, PHP, Python. GO
Information security and risk management
Ethical hacking
Digital forensics
Threat hunting
Malware Analysis/Reverse Engineering
Any security specific certification like Security+, CEH, ISO 27001, etc.
Prizes:
The top performing Participants who clear Round 2 may stand a chance to receive ‘Ninja or
Digital’ provisional job offers subject to interview process and other selection criteria
as per TCS’ sole discretion and policies in effect.
The top 10 Participants from Round 2 will be invited to attend the award ceremony and interact with TCS
leadership.
Certification of merit will be awarded to all top performing Participants.
Exceptional performers will be given a chance to work with the TCS Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence.
TCS
HackQuest Contest 2024:
The contest will be conducted in two rounds.
Round 1 – It is an online ‘Catch the Flag’ competition where all participants can take
part and they will be shortlisted for next rounds basis qualification.
Participants shortlisted after ‘Round 1’ will move to the second round (“Round 2”)
Round 2 – It will be conducted over (Microsoft TEAMS/Webex) and participants will have
to keep their camera switched ‘ON’ during the entire period of the ‘Round 2’
Final round will be conducted in person. It will be a Jury evaluation round at TCS premises. The details
of which will be intimated to the qualified participants.
TCS will arrange for remote modalities of evaluating a select list of participants from Round 1.
Shortlisted participants are required to stay tuned for real-time updates on Round 2, dates, format etc.
Participants shall be solely responsible for keeping track of the announcements and participating
accordingly.
Round 1 – 27 January 2024 (from 10 AM to
4 PM)
This will be an online challenge-based test where the participants would be required to log on to an
online application with a set of challenge statements. These tests will require the participants to
demonstrate their ethical hacking skills and their specific competency in security challenges. The set
of challenge statements will be presented in three (3) categories:
Beginner level challenges
Intermediate level challenges
Expert level challenges
Round 1 will be for six (6) hour duration during which all the participants are required to use their
skills and solve the challenge statement(s) (according to the category chosen) and submit the flags
captured in the online portal.
Round 2
Participants selected from ‘Round 1’ will be eligible to participate in ‘Round 2.’ Round 2 will be
conducted in a remote environment and will be proctored by the TCS team.
Activity 1: Penetration testing on hosted challenges
The participant would be provided with the hosted challenge statements which he/she is expected to solve
by using his/her intuitive skills. Challenge statements in this round might require expertise in the
following areas as well:
System exploitation
Penetration testing of web applications
Mobile Security
Digital forensics
Threat hunting
Incident response
Source code analysis
Scoring will be based on the flags captured by the participants in above mentioned topics
Activity 2: Case Explanation (3-4 hours) – Remotely
Shortlisted participants will be invited for a case explanation round. In this round, participants will
be required to explain their approach to solving challenge statement(s) and answer the queries posed by
the jury panel.