Who says learning can’t be chaotic?
Welcome to the official launch of CHAOS, the pioneering cybersecurity team established by NEI-ISEP. While we are technically a competitive team, we view ourselves primarily as a learning ecosystem and a collaborative community. Our foundation is built on the technical and personal development of every single member, guided by the principle that building a solid community and sharing knowledge will always prevail over individual victory. We are open to all current ISEP students and alumni who are ready to learn.
A Mission Beyond Competition
Our primary goal is to captivate students and develop a skill set that traditional coursework simply cannot fully cover. While the ultimate destination is competitive success, our current focus is on training and evolution. We are strictly an ego-free zone; we are 100% beginner-friendly and believe that a mix of experience levels creates the best environment for growth. Through a mentorship dynamic, our more experienced members and leadership will assist those just starting out, ensuring that knowledge flows freely across the team. We aim to foster a space where intellectual curiosity is the only true prerequisite.
Training, Competitions, and Academics
To achieve our goals, we organize training sessions and workshops. We want to participate in national and international Capture The Flag (CTF) challenges, focusing initially on online events with the intent to move toward onsite competitions as the team matures. However, we never lose sight of the fact that we are students first. Our activities are carefully scheduled to avoid conflicts with exam seasons or heavy project delivery weekends.
Participation is flexible for now. We encourage members to join whatever sessions they can, though as the team solidifies, we will aim for a core commitment to about 40% of the competitions we enter. After every event, we engage in a “Write-Up” process. This is not to judge performance, but to collectively study our mistakes, analyze new approaches, and improve our problem-solving skills for the next challenge.
Structure and Ethics
Currently, the team is led by a Captain who manages operations, with major decisions made democratically or, in complex cases, by the leadership team. We handle conflicts like adults and prioritize the health of the community. As we grow towards our target competition squad, we will introduce tryouts for funded competitions and tier the team by skill level, though entry-level training will remain open.
Finally, we believe in developing real-world skills in a secure environment. This requires a steadfast commitment to ethics. We prohibit stealing flags from teammates, cheating in competitions, or any behavior that tarnishes the image of the team, NEI-ISEP or ISEP. We want you to break things and experiment, but strictly within our ethical guidelines. Our vision is to eventually field a Bug Bounty team, but that requires discipline, trust, and a professional mindset starting today.