Security Fest 2018 · Sweden · 2018

Security Fest 2018 Challenge Badge

USB HID and serial puzzle badge

A simple Security Fest 2018 challenge badge with USB-A, two buttons, four DIP switches, red/green LEDs, HID text output, serial puzzle flow, and an open SecBadge hardware repository.

Security Fest Sweden ATmega32U4 USB-A HID Serial DIP Switch Arduino Leonardo Challenge Badge Open Hardware

EventSecurity Fest 2018

SeriesSecurity Fest

LocationGothenburg

CountrySweden

People

Authors & Credits

badge hardware support

Zkylark Electronics

The quoted badge text gives Zkylark Electronics a huge thanks for help with the badge.

Source

challenge badge creator

Weckzen

The field writeup attributes the challenge badge to Weckzen and quotes the badge text signed //Weckzen.

Source

Why It Mattered

The 2018 record extends Security Fest backward from the later polished artistic PCBs to a smaller community challenge board where openness, USB behavior, serial clues, and prize lore mattered more than spectacle.

Hardware

The SecBadge repository documents a 69x43 mm board with ATmega32U4 TQFP-44, USB-A male connector, AVR ISP 3x2 header, 16 MHz crystal, four-position DIP switch, two through-hole tactile switches, red and green 1206 LEDs, and 1206 passives.

Software & Apps

The field writeup reports that inserting the board exposes a HID device and serial interface. One button types challenge text over HID, DIP-switch positions reveal different clues, the board identifies itself as Arduino Leonardo-bootloader compatible, and a serial path leads into the puzzle.

Lore

The challenge text frames the badge as a Bug Bounty Hunter Sweden community object, thanks Zkylark Electronics for badge help, and turns a PGP/key-recovery puzzle into a prize handoff that could be claimed at Security Fest, Sec-T, or OWASP GBG Day.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

challenge interaction historical

DIP-switch clue paths

The writeup documents multiple clue texts triggered by toggling DIP switches and pressing a badge button, turning a small hardware input surface into the puzzle selector.

Compatibility: Security Fest 2018 Challenge Badge

Source

challenge software historical

HID and serial puzzle flow

The badge presents itself as both HID and serial; HID button output gives onboarding and clues, while listening on the serial interface reveals the path into the PGP/key-recovery challenge.

Compatibility: Security Fest 2018 Challenge Badge

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

finicky Arduino-clone caveat note

The quoted badge text says the board is loaded with an Arduino Leonardo bootloader and can be treated as an Arduino clone, but warns that getting everything to work and fit can be finicky.

The compendium records this as a practical attendee caveat rather than an unresolved defect: the badge was intentionally open and modifiable, but not frictionless.

Confidence: badge text quoted in field writeup
Status: historical
Timeframe: badge hacking workflow
Source note: Zeta-Two field writeup quoting the challenge badge text.

missing rights-cleared image note

No Security Fest 2018 Challenge Badge image is published because the current public source trail has not been paired with a reusable original badge or artifact photo or official upstream raster render with source URL, license or permission basis, attribution, and processing notes.

The Sweden record remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying source-page media, documentation screenshots, event photos, social media, placeholders, or generated approximations.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy and Security Fest 2018 badge source trail.

source-photo limitation note

The current build has not cleared a reusable original badge photo from the field writeup or repository.

The record remains source-backed for facts, while the catalogue withholds imagery until a licensed original photo is curated.

Confidence: public writeup and image policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: Project image provenance and Zeta-Two challenge-badge photo reference.

Resources

SecBadge BOM bill of materials · BOM listing the 69x43 mm board's ATmega32U4, USB-A connector, four-position DIP switch, two tactile switches, red/green LEDs, crystal, passives, and ISP header. SecBadge repository source · Public hardware repository with board files, schematic/layout assets, firmware directory, and Gerbers for the challenge badge. Security Fest 2018 challenge badge writeup field writeup · Zeta-Two field report documenting the challenge badge, HID/serial behavior, DIP-switch clue paths, prize flow, and community attribution.

Sources

GitHub / znibb: SecBadge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary open-hardware source for board dimensions, design files, Gerbers, firmware directory, and component evidence. Zeta-Two: Security Fest 2018 Challenge Badge & Prize Assembly Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary field source for challenge behavior, HID/serial lore, clue flow, prize context, Weckzen attribution, and Zkylark Electronics thanks.