MITRE eCTF 2026: Secure Firmware on Arm Cortex-M0+

Competed in MITRE's embedded Capture the Flag (eCTF) 2026, designing and attacking bare-metal firmware on the MSPM0L2228 (Arm Cortex-M0+).

• Contributed to secure firmware design using key-derivation-based cryptography for authentication and protected communication between embedded components.
• Acted as both designer and attacker, per eCTF's format — building a secure system, then attempting to break other teams' implementations.
• Deepened my understanding of embedded systems, hardware security, and applied cryptography beyond what standard coursework covers.

Full write-up: My MITRE eCTF 2026 Experience