Cyber Apocalypse 2022 event recap: Reliving the epic intergalactic chase

Keeping the galaxy safe has never been an easy task, but hackers are always up for a challenge. They came to the rescue once again!

We are talking, of course, about the biggest Capture The Flag (CTF) hacking competition of the year: Cyber Apocalypse 2022: intergalactic chase.

After the smashing success of its 2021 debut, the hacking community's favorite CTF event is back (with the help of SIEMENS, Sonarsource, and Snyk).

Heroic hackers from 181 different countries and of different backgrounds and skill levels assembled to defend the galaxy from the evil Draeger. From the 14th-20th of May, 12,879 players (surpassing last year’s record by 30%!) and 7,024 teams joined the six-day intergalactic chase of a lifetime.

The storyline

In a galaxy far, far away…

Draeger - Thanatos - Villain

The planet Thoccarth was once a place of wondrous experimentation and vibrant, colorful life. That was until continuous political turmoil and endless games of power led to a nuclear civil war that turned the planet into a radioactive wasteland.

A parasitic species of Mutants landed on the planet through a meteorite and managed to survive and thrive on the decimated land. In a war-torn world of savages, little to none is known about how Draeger came to power and united many of the nomadic tribes of The Glowing Sea.

After being proclaimed the universal ruler of the Mutants, he led the defense of his home planet in the energy crisis war.

His attack on the militarized planet Vinyr failed and he was taken into custody, but not before kidnapping and eventually killing the family of lead investigator Miyuki.

Draeger was imprisoned for crimes against sentient life, but he managed to escape the maximum-security black hole and migrated to another galaxy, searching for an army to lead.

Draeger again rose into power with false promises of providing boundless riches and resources by influencing and manipulating Longhir's planet's council. Having direct access to the planet's vault, he eventually bought the Golden Fang mercenary army, which he plans to overtake the cluster with.

Few are the people who would be able to stop him; an unlikely group of misfits, with unique hacking superpowers and a reason to want Draeger behind bars once and for all.

Meet the heroes

Miyuki - Boots of Justice - Forensics

The founding member and leader of the group, Miyuki, served as a foreign intelligence officer during the Nim cluster cold war. She was the youngest cadet graduate that passed with high honors in Vinyr's recorded history.

Her incredible investigative skills and natural intuition allowed her to move up the ranks quickly. During the Vinyr-Longhir proxy wars, she was appointed as an ambassador based on Urkir, a planet that declared neutrality.

Once the Mutants invaded Rohendel, the Galactic Federation issued an embargo on intergalactic arms deals. She later became the investigative lead on sanctions breaks and uncovered Longhir's involvement in the constant supply of arms passing through The Glowing Sea.

Before reporting this back to the station, Draeger's spies abducted her and her family during the final negotiations of the Vinyr-Mutant conflict.

During their captivity in a general's bunker, her family was used as a bargaining chip to prevent further troop movements and call for an end to the siege. When Ulysses found out about Miyuki's abduction, he abandoned his station and went to save her.

After taking down the guards, he attempted to gain access and open the bunker door. The door mechanism was booby-trapped, which resulted in the bunker being blown up and collapsing in on itself.

In the rubbles, it was later discovered that Miyuki was the only survivor. Suffering from memory loss, she woke up from a medically induced coma that lasted almost a year—eventually learning about her family's fate and Draeger's escape.

Having nothing left to live for, she took off in the vast empty space, planning her revenge.

Ulysses - The General - Web

Vinyr was the first planet to perceive the dying sun's threat to their existence. A couple of generations before, the state took drastic measures to assure its survival in a potential all-out war.

The state-backed "Ikarus'' project pioneered the research of nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment.

During the cold war, they issued a mandated enlistment of any person of age. Ulysses grew up in a strict environment and was under significant pressure from his father to follow in his footsteps and join the army as a corporal.

The people on his planet lived under constant alert and fear since the galaxy had declared open combat due to the sun dying. Ulysses found great comfort in such dreadful times with his childhood friend Miyuki, who was his first and only love.

In the great Energy Crisis war, his home planet emerged victorious with the cost of entire civilizations being destroyed. As a commander of his own battleship battalion that led the attack on The Glowing Sea, he witnessed destruction, genocides, and the lives of his beloved friends being taken away from him.

He regrets being part of the military and hasn't been himself since. He lives in constant torment for not being able to save Miyuki's family. Bonnie approached him for help due to his military experience. He has since reconciled with Miyuki and is now working with her to take down Draeger.

Bonnie - Scarface - Pwn

Bonnie grew up poor and an orphan. He resorted to crime after a local mob boss saw promise in him and undertook him as a disciple.

Bonnie started as a debt collector and enforcer and quickly moved up in the ranks, becoming head of connections. He was in charge of transporting the illegal exploits sold in the black market of the city, a trade he had been interested in since he was young.

After a couple of years, the mob wasn't doing well since a council reform imposed a crackdown on crime. Growing paranoid of a potential mutiny, the mob boss ordered a hit on critical members of his gang.

Bonnie survived an unsuccessful hitjob that left him a scar in the process. He then went after the mob boss, whom he thought of as a father, ultimately taking his place.

In a constant cycle of violence that didn't let Bonnie retire from the ways he grew apart and hated, Miyuki, who was after him all this time, offered a lifeline: A clean slate and a new life, in exchange for helping her take down Draeger.

Klaus - Scrappy - Crypto

Klaus was designed as a peacekeeper prototype for the crime-riddled area of Mirthidelle. His creator, Danbeer, loved and raised him as his child since he could not bear his own due to the prolonged exposure to the polluted air in the underground city.

Once the council of Longhir learned of the successful prototype-making, they ordered his destruction, and he was later transferred to another galaxy on a planet designated for the disposal of androids.

In the waste factory, he managed to escape but not before the factory workers encrypted parts of its memory during the hard-reset process.

Klaus was unable to get out of the android graveyard area of the factory since the right portion of his body was paralyzed because the encryption reached some of its movement function routines.

This was when he met Miyuki, who entered the disposal dump to search for parts to repair her spaceship. She was fascinated by his capabilities and reasoning and took him into their Paraman crew. Klaus now vows to break the encryption someday that holds his original location's memories and reunite with his Father.

Paulie - Little Boo - Reversing

Rohendel was a planet of peace and prosperity, responsible for many technological advancements that made space colonization possible in the Nim cluster.

Paulie, since a child, was fascinated and studied the ancient civilizations of his planet on this subject. The elemental stones, necessary for warp-speed transportation fuel, can only be harvested there.

Wanting to get these resources for himself, Draeger ordered an attack on Rohendel that decimated its population, leaving only Paulie alive. He was kept as a pet by one of the death squad commanders and grew up in the harsh conditions of a mercenary ship. He used his talent to decipher alien language and technology.

One day when everyone was sleeping, he managed to escape the station through an escape pod. Once out in the vastly empty space, the pod malfunctioned and sent a distress signal to nearby vessels, where he was left there deserted for days. Paulie was running out of hope until the crew eventually found him and took him in.

Virgil - Science's pride and sorrow - Hardware