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FAQs

Who We Are

Slug Security is a student organization at the University of California, Santa Cruz, dedicated to fostering a community of people who are passionate about cybersecurity. If you've ever thought of taking something apart to see how it works, or you've thought about outsmarting a system to do something it wasn't designed to do, then you're in the right place.

What We Do

Think workshops, social gatherings, and some serious (but fun) competitions. Most of our events are held online (what would hacking be without the internet?), but we also have some in-person events, those being held at the Baskin School of Engineering. See our events page for more information on what we have planned.

For specifics, heres what we mainly do:

  • Projects: Projects on various things security, from creating CTFs, to web-development, to hardware hacking.
    • Student-led & team based
    • Full support from the club
  • Competitions: Participate in various competitions, such as CTFs, Hackathons, and more.
    • Individual or team based
    • Hands-on hacking experience
    • Travel opportunities
  • Practice: Weekly meetings to practice and learn new skills.
    • Workshops
    • Capture the Flag (CTF) practice
    • Guest speakers

How to Get Involved

It's easy to get involved, we have no set commitment requirements. Just show up to our events and participate in our activities. If you're interested in joining, please visit our join page for more information.

What Is a CTF Competition

Capture The Flags, or CTFs, are a kind of computer security competition. Teams of competitors (or just individuals) are pitted against each other in a test of computer security skills.

More information can be found at CTFd's "What's a CTF?".

I'm Not a CS Major

No worries! We gladly welcome anyone interested in learning about computer security, regardless of their major. In fact, we have an economics major on our CTF team!

Topics We Cover

Our club explores a diverse array of cybersecurity topics, such as web security, reverse engineering, cryptography, forensics, and beyond. We design our workshops and events to be both informative and engaging while addressing fundamental and advanced subjects to cater to various skill levels.