D 2020

Benefits and Pitfalls of Using Capture The Flag Games in University Courses

VYKOPAL, Jan; Valdemar ŠVÁBENSKÝ and Ee-Chien CHANG

Basic information

Original name

Benefits and Pitfalls of Using Capture The Flag Games in University Courses

Authors

VYKOPAL, Jan; Valdemar ŠVÁBENSKÝ and Ee-Chien CHANG

Edition

New York, NY, USA, Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE '20), p. 752-758, 7 pp. 2020

Publisher

ACM

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Proceedings paper

Country of publisher

United States of America

Confidentiality degree

is not subject to a state or trade secret

Publication form

electronic version available online

References:

URL, URL

Marked to be transferred to RIV

Yes

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14610/20:00115112

Organization

Ústav výpočetní techniky – Repository – Repository

ISBN

978-1-4503-6793-6

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1145/3328778.3366893

UT WoS

000810169400124

EID Scopus

2-s2.0-85081585261

Keywords in English

cybersecurity; capture the flag; summative assessment; homework assignment; plagiarism; learning analytics; educational data mining

Links

EF16_019/0000822, research and development project. MUNI/A/1076/2019, interní kód Repo. MUNI/A/1411/2019, interní kód Repo.
Changed: 31/3/2023 04:06, RNDr. Daniel Jakubík

Abstract

In the original language

The concept of Capture the Flag (CTF) games for practicing cybersecurity skills is widespread in informal educational settings and leisure-time competitions. However, it is not much used in university courses. This paper summarizes our experience from using jeopardy CTF games as homework assignments in an introductory undergraduate course. Our analysis of data describing students' in-game actions and course performance revealed four aspects that should be addressed in the design of CTF tasks: scoring, scaffolding, plagiarism, and learning analytics capabilities of the used CTF platform. The paper addresses these aspects by sharing our recommendations. We believe that these recommendations are useful for cybersecurity instructors who consider using CTF games for assessment in university courses and developers of CTF game frameworks.
Displayed: 6/5/2026 10:56