Join us

No experience? Perfect.

We're a student-led Capture The Flag team at the University of New Mexico, and we welcome everyone — whether you're brand new to cybersecurity or already a seasoned hacker. There's no application and no interview.

Join the Discord Common questions
The LoboSec team at the University of New Mexico

Getting started

Three steps to your first flag

This is the whole onboarding path. Most new members go from "I've never done this" to solving a real challenge in a single sitting.

01

Join the Discord

Introduce yourself in the welcome channel. That's where practice sessions, competition sign-ups and challenge hints all live.

02

Show up to a practice

Bring a laptop. We work retired challenges together and talk through the solution so you can see how an experienced player thinks.

03

Compete

Sign up for the next CTF with the team. You'll be paired with members who know the category, and you keep every technique you pick up.

What you get out of it

Skills that transfer straight to the job

LoboSec is a place to learn, explore and grow in a supportive, collaborative environment. We'll help you dive into web exploitation, reverse engineering, cryptography, forensics and more — one flag at a time.

  • Hands-on tooling. Burp Suite, Ghidra, GDB, Wireshark, Volatility, Python scripting.
  • Real vulnerability classes. The same bug patterns that show up in production code and in interviews.
  • Teamwork under pressure. Splitting a scoreboard across people and time zones for 48 hours straight.
  • Something to point at. Public writeups, competition placements and a team on your résumé.
All
Majors welcome
0
Prerequisites
Free
Membership
6+
Categories to try

FAQ

Questions new members ask

Still unsure about something? Ask in the Discord — someone will answer, usually within the hour.

Ask the team

No. A good share of the team started with no security background at all. If you can use a terminal — or are willing to learn — you can start solving beginner challenges right away, and we'll point you at the right practice platforms.

Not at all. Members come from across UNM. Forensics, OSINT and cryptography reward careful reasoning as much as coding, and plenty of strong CTF players come from math, engineering and other fields entirely.

As much as you want to give it. Some members drop into a practice session now and then; others play full weekend competitions. Nothing is mandatory, and stepping back during finals is normal.

A laptop is all you need. A Linux VM (or WSL on Windows) makes life easier, and most of the tools we use — Python, GDB, Wireshark, Ghidra, Burp Suite Community — are free. Ask in the Discord and we'll help you get set up.

Say you're interested when we post the sign-up. Beginners are welcome on every roster — you'll be paired with someone experienced in a category rather than dropped into it alone.

Yes. CTFs are sanctioned competitions run on infrastructure the organizers own and intend to be attacked. We practice only on those systems and on platforms built for it — never against real targets without authorization.

One link, that's it

Your first flag is one message away.

If you're curious, motivated and ready to learn by doing, you're in the right place. Come introduce yourself.

Join the Discord