Advent of Cyber '23 Side Quest

Introduction

Ya hear this, eh? After me icy defeat in 2022, I, the Bandit Yeti, have been schemin' under the South Pole stars, cookin' up frosty plans to settle scores with that Best Festival Company. But blast it; their defences are as tough as permafrost, gettin' stronger with every chilly day.

I caught wind of that merger, with Best Festival Company joinin' forces with AntarctiCrafts. Something's fishy, like a penguin on a unicycle, and I bet the coppers will be sniffin' around soon enough. And who's this? Detective Frost-eau, poking his nose where it don't belong. Well, well, well... looks like old Yeti's got a brand new icy trick up his sleeve. Time to do a little hackin'. Let's stir up a snowstorm they'll never forget!

What Is the Advent of Cyber Side Quest?

The Advent of Cyber 2023 is an annual event hosted by TryHackMe in December. It's like an advent calendar but with exciting security challenges instead of chocolates! If you are unfamiliar with the event but you want to participate, join this room. While Advent of Cyber is a fully guided event accessible to users of all skill levels in cyber security, we wanted to prepare something extra for more advanced participants. That's how the Side Quest came to be!

The Advent of Cyber 2023 Side Quest is a series of four connected challenges in which you'll play as the Bandit Yeti. Your goal will be to get a foothold into the Best Festival Company. These challenges will have no additional guidance and will range between "Hard" and "Insane" difficulty levels. Please note that completing the Side Quest is entirely optional; you don't need to do it to enjoy the main Advent of Cyber 2023 event.

How To Find Side Quest Challenges

During the competition, challenges were located in secret, unpublished rooms, and to find them, you needed to search for keys in the main Advent of Cyber event room. The keys are QR codes, leading you to secret challenge rooms.

Since the event is now over and the rooms aren't secret anymore, here's the full list of links:

First Side Quest Challenge

The secret key to this room was divided into four parts and distributed through our social media. Luckily for you, you won't have to do the search for the key anymore. You can access the room directly here:

SQ1: The Return of the Yeti

Second Side Quest Challenge

The key for this room was hidden on [Day 6] of the main AoC room. The key was protected by the Ghost of Christmas Past. Will you be able to find him?

Alternatively, if you prefer to go directly to the second side quest instead of finding the key, you can access it from the following link:

SQ2: Snowy ARMageddon 

Third Side Quest Challenge

The key for this room was hidden on [Day 11] of the main AoC room. Messy Van Sprinkles left a chat history lying around the server. Analyse it to get the key.

Alternatively, if you prefer to go directly to the third side quest instead of finding the key, you can access it from the following link:

SQ3: Frosteau Busy with Vim 

Fourth Side Quest Challenge

The key for this room was hidden on [Day 20] of the main AoC room. Tracy McGreedy left some breadcrumbs for you. Follow them to get the key.

Alternatively, if you prefer to go directly to the fourth side quest instead of finding the key, you can access it from the following link:

SQ4: The Bandit Surfer