With the Canvas hack still fresh in people’s minds, it’s no exaggeration to say that the need for strong cybersecurity is increasing all the time. Developments are moving fast; three years ago, TU/e did not even have an association for ethical hackers. Now, E.S.H.A. Trojan has more than 110 members, and the budget for its next event exceeds ten thousand euros for the first time.

Looking back at the early days

A group of friends at TU/e decided in 2024 that it was time to create a hacking community and organized a CTF competition for Eindhoven. The letters stand for Capture The Flag, because the goal of these competitions is to uncover a specific piece of information, known as a “flag.”

Cybersecurity company WhiteHats became a sponsor. Following the event’s success, Trojan—now an official association—organized another tournament. With the third tournament taking place on May 30, the event can now be called an annual tradition.

New sponsors

For this third TrojanCTF, the students expanded their search for sponsors to become less dependent on main sponsor WhiteHats. “We were hoping for one or two additional sponsors, but we ended up with five,” says Schobben, a master’s student in Information Security Technology. In addition to companies, Trojan is also supported by the Cybersecurity research group of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.

The most notable sponsor is the AIVD intelligence service, part of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. “We first spoke with them during a CTF tournament at TU Delft this winter. The security service had a booth there to connect with students.”

Less anonymous

Schobben, who is 26 himself, says the AIVD has changed the way it presents itself to society. “In the past, everything there was secretive. The intelligence service didn’t really have a public face. We didn’t know who worked there.”

A lot has changed since then. “You can see it in everything happening around the world. Hacks are getting closer to home—just look at Canvas and the TU/e cyberattack of January 2025—but also at today’s geopolitical situation. Governments are trying to digitally cripple each other,” Schobben summarizes.

The AIVD’s recruitment strategy has evolved as well. “They now like to visit technical universities in search of people with the right expertise and a Dutch passport. And a CTF event attracts many students with exactly the right interests.”

Job fair

As a sponsor, the AIVD has the opportunity to submit tournament assignments. Schobben has not yet received any challenges from the agency and does not necessarily expect any. However, the AIVD will also have a spot in the hall of the Auditorium, where the Trojan CTF will take place on Saturday, May 30.

“In a way, it becomes a job fair, because the other sponsors also have booths there. Students can ask what it’s like to work there and what they should take into account if they do work there. For example, what are the consequences for your travel behavior or your partner? But I imagine the assignments you get to work on are really cool.”

The president expects 260 students to participate in the tournament. “It’s free, and we offer plenty of fun extras. Besides food, drinks, and a goodie bag, this is also a chance to meet people who share the same hacking hobby as you. You compete in teams of four, and you can register individually or with a full team.” The atmosphere on campus is expected to be lively, as the Luna festival is also taking place that same day.

On Wednesday evenings, Trojan organizes gatherings in Neuron where participants—after a short introduction—work together on hacking challenges and discuss the solutions. The topics vary each week. Examples include open source intelligence, where participants might use online information to track down a missing person, and ethical hacking, where the goal could be to gain access to a server without using passwords. These evenings are open to everyone.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.