On Saturday I took part in the virtual grand final of the Matrix challenge, a UK-wide competition run by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Cyber Crime Unit for 11-17 year olds.
The competition consisted of a series of capture-the-flag style challenges. Each was a cybersecurity-related puzzle ranging from cracking hashes using rainbow tables to figuring out PINs from obscure clues. Completing each challenge gave you a number of points based on its difficulty level. Bonus points were also given to the first person to complete a challenge in their region.
I ended up coming second in the Tarian region consisting of South and Mid Wales and twenty-first in the UK, which I am happy with.
I enjoyed the challenges and hope to take part in the competition again next year.
Brychan Thomas' projects 