X-CTF 2016 · Singapore · 2016

X-CTF 2016 Badge

Singapore ESP8266 CTF badge

NUS Greyhats' X-CTF 2016 finals used a custom ESP8266 electronic badge documented by the official event page, the badge designer's hardware and firmware writeups, and public hardware and firmware repositories.

X-CTF NUS Greyhats Singapore ESP8266 Nokia 5110 PCD8544 LiPo Wi-Fi CTF Student Competition Southeast Asia Asia

EventX-CTF 2016

SeriesX-CTF

LocationNUS School of Computing, Singapore

CountrySingapore

People

Authors & Credits

badge hardware and firmware author

Darell Tan

Author of the hardware and firmware writeups; firmware license also names Darell Tan as a copyright holder.

Source

event organizer

NUS Greyhats

Official publisher of the X-CTF 2016 event page and student competition context.

Source

firmware copyright holder

Jacob Soo

The firmware license names Jacob Soo alongside Darell Tan as a 2016 copyright holder.

Source

hardware repository publisher

X-CTF badge team

The neander repository preserves the X-CTF 2016 badge hardware archive and production support files.

Source

Why It Mattered

It fills an older Singapore gap before SINCON and Hack&Roll: a student security competition used a fully custom networked badge as both participant artifact and challenge surface, with open firmware and recoverable hardware files.

Hardware

The public hardware writeup and repository document an ESP8266 badge with Nokia 5110 / PCD8544 LCD, six buttons, lithium-polymer battery power, MCP73831 LiPo charging, USB serial programming, Eagle board and schematic files, BOM notes, and sponsor artwork. The repository preserves final and earlier board revisions but does not expose a GitHub-detected license.

Software & Apps

The public firmware writeup and BSD-3-Clause firmware repository document Arduino-style ESP8266 badge code, LCD and GPIO drivers, Wi-Fi scanning, challenge apps, challenge state tracking, and a CTF-oriented firmware menu. The firmware archive is treated as participant firmware, not as proof of every private organizer challenge backend.

Lore

The official NUS Greyhats page places X-CTF 2016 at NUS School of Computing on June 18, 2016 after online qualifiers. Darell Tan's writeups describe the badge as a real hardware production effort for the event, including manufacturing constraints, sponsor logos, and post-event firmware publication.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

badge challenge software released

CTF firmware apps

The firmware repository preserves applet, challenge, Wi-Fi scanner, LCD, and game source modules for the event badge firmware.

Compatibility: X-CTF 2016 Badge

Source

controls source-backed

Six-button input surface

The badge used multiple buttons for menu and challenge interaction, with GPIO support preserved in the public firmware.

Compatibility: X-CTF 2016 Badge

Source

display subsystem source-backed

Nokia 5110 / PCD8544 LCD

The firmware and hardware trail document a Nokia 5110-style PCD8544 LCD as the badge display surface.

Compatibility: X-CTF 2016 Badge

Source

microcontroller and Wi-Fi source-backed

ESP8266 badge core

The hardware writeup and repository document the badge around an ESP8266 module with USB serial programming and Wi-Fi features.

Compatibility: X-CTF 2016 Badge

Source

power subsystem source-backed

LiPo charging and portable power

The hardware trail documents lithium-polymer battery power and MCP73831-based charging for portable badge use.

Compatibility: X-CTF 2016 Badge

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

firmware/backend boundary note

The public firmware repository preserves participant-side badge code and CTF apps, but this pass did not recover every private organizer backend, provisioning script, or final competition infrastructure artifact.

The software section describes the recovered badge firmware without overclaiming complete event infrastructure publication.

Confidence: public firmware archive
Status: documented
Timeframe: post-event firmware release
Source note: irq5.io firmware writeup and geekman/badger repository.

hardware license caveat note

The public hardware repository preserves Eagle design files and badge imagery but GitHub reported no detected license, and no top-level reusable hardware or image license was recovered in this pass.

Hardware files are cited as evidence, but repository images are not copied locally and reuse claims stay limited.

Confidence: GitHub API and repository tree recheck
Status: no visible hardware license
Timeframe: 2026-05-21 source pass
Source note: jellyjellyrobot/neander GitHub API and repository tree recheck.

missing rights-cleared image note

The hardware repository and writeups include real badge imagery, but no image is promoted because this pass did not recover a complete reusable image license, attribution basis, and processing provenance for catalogue publication.

The Singapore record remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying repository photos, sponsor artwork, or blog images without complete image rights.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy, irq5.io writeups, and jellyjellyrobot/neander repository.

student-competition scope caveat note

X-CTF was a student cybersecurity competition rather than a general public hacker conference, but the official event page and badge-maker sources document a real event-specific electronic badge and firmware challenge surface.

The record is included as a Singapore hacker-culture competition badge while keeping the event type explicit.

Confidence: official event page
Status: documented
Timeframe: X-CTF 2016
Source note: NUS Greyhats X-CTF page and irq5.io badge writeups.

Resources

Designing the X-CTF 2016 Badge hardware writeup · Darell Tan's hardware-production writeup for the badge, used for component, board, power, display, and manufacturing context. X-CTF 2016 Badge Firmware firmware writeup · Darell Tan's firmware writeup for the badge software, challenge apps, LCD/GPIO support, and post-event code release. X-CTF 2016 event page event page · NUS Greyhats page documenting X-CTF 2016 as a cyber-security competition at NUS School of Computing on June 18, 2016 after online qualifiers. badger firmware license repository license · BSD-3-Clause-style license source naming Darell Tan and Jacob Soo as 2016 copyright holders. geekman/badger firmware repository · Public firmware repository for the X-CTF 2016 badge, including Arduino-style ESP8266 code, LCD, Wi-Fi scanner, applet, challenge, and game modules. jellyjellyrobot/neander hardware repository · Public hardware repository preserving Eagle board and schematic files, BOM notes, libraries, and sponsor image assets; no top-level GitHub license was detected during the 2026-05-21 recheck. neander hardware README hardware documentation · Repository hardware README pointing to the BOM and production writeup.

Sources

GitHub / Darell Tan and Jacob Soo: geekman/badger Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary firmware repository preserving the BSD-licensed participant firmware and source modules. GitHub / X-CTF badge team: jellyjellyrobot/neander Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Public hardware repository preserving Eagle board/schematic files, BOM reference, and hardware readme; used as evidence for source availability, not image publication. GitHub / geekman: LICENSE.txt Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Firmware license source for BSD-3-Clause redistribution terms; the hardware repository still lacks a top-level visible license. NUS Greyhats: X-CTF 2016 Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official event source for X-CTF 2016, NUS School of Computing location, June 18, 2016 finals date, and student-team cybersecurity competition framing. irq5.io / Darell Tan: Designing the X-CTF 2016 Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary badge-maker hardware source for the custom X-CTF 2016 electronic badge, ESP8266 platform, LCD, buttons, LiPo power, USB serial programming, manufacturing constraints, sponsor artwork, and public hardware handoff. irq5.io / Darell Tan: X-CTF 2016 Badge Firmware Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary badge-maker software source for the firmware architecture, CTF apps, Wi-Fi scanning, LCD/GPIO drivers, and public firmware release.