X
HACK-X
FIELD ARCHIVE/MIT WORLD PEACE UNIVERSITY, PUNE
STUDENT TECHNICAL COLLECTIVE

WE TAKE THINGS APART.
WE FIGURE THINGS OUT.

Hack-X is a student technical collective at MIT-WPU exploring cybersecurity, hardware, and the systems that power our world.

ACTIVE DISCIPLINES: 06
CURRENT CYCLE: 2026–27
CATALOGUE // 01

The Archive Index

Explore Hack-X by discipline. Each domain represents active research, student projects, and hands-on lab experimentation at MIT-WPU.

6 TECHNICAL DOMAINS•ALL OPEN
SPEC-01DISASSEMBLY LOG

Offensive Security

Binary triage, memory corruption, reverse engineering, and finding vulnerabilities before adversaries do.

Key Lab Focus:
Exploit DevGDB / GhidraBuffer OverflowsLinux PrivEsc
Explore discipline
SPEC-02INCIDENT DOCKET

Cyber Defense

Designing intrusion detection matrices, hardening infrastructure, and deep forensic packet inspection.

Key Lab Focus:
Wireshark / SuricataSIEM TriagingKernel HardeningThreat Intel
Explore discipline
SPEC-03SCHEMATIC SHEET

Hardware & Embedded

Microcontroller reverse engineering, SPI/I2C bus analysis, firmware extraction, and SDR experimentation.

Key Lab Focus:
SPI Flash ExtractionLogic AnalyzersUART TappingSub-GHz SDR
Explore discipline
SPEC-04RESEARCH NOTE

Applied Research

Investigating zero-knowledge proof primitives, cryptographic protocols, and novel fuzzing architectures.

Key Lab Focus:
Applied CryptoCoverage FuzzingProtocol AnalysisZK Verification
Explore discipline
SPEC-05WAR ROOM LOG

CTFs & Competitions

Hands-on jeopardy challenges, attack-defense war games, and competing across national & global student brackets.

Key Lab Focus:
Jeopardy BracketsWeb PwnCrypto ChallengesForensics Speed
Explore discipline
SPEC-06REPO MANIFEST

Open-Source Tooling

Building production-grade security utilities and releasing them to the global defensive community.

Key Lab Focus:
Python ScannersRust MicroservicesCI/CD HardeningCLI Utilities
Explore discipline
DOSSIER FILE // 02

Project Dossiers

Real engineering artifacts, open-source scanners, and hardware testbeds engineered by Hack-X members.

6 ACTIVE INITIATIVES
CASE FILE #01ACTIVE LAB

Project Aegis

An automated vulnerability scanner for microservices architectures.

System Architecture:
PythonDockerKubernetes
Source CodeMIT-WPU LAB
CASE FILE #02RESEARCH PROTOTYPE

Cipher Vault

Decentralized identity management system using zero-knowledge proofs.

System Architecture:
SolidityTypeScriptNext.js
Source CodeMIT-WPU LAB
CASE FILE #03HARDWARE TESTBED

Gatekeeper IoT

Open-source biometric authentication gateway for IoT devices.

System Architecture:
GoIoTCryptography
Source CodeMIT-WPU LAB
CASE FILE #04COMMUNITY TOOL

OSINT Mapper

Real-time threat intelligence correlation tool from public data sources.

System Architecture:
PythonReactGraphDB
Source CodeMIT-WPU LAB
CASE FILE #05EMBEDDED BUILD

Hardware Fuzzer

A custom fuzzer designed to test embedded system firmware.

System Architecture:
C++AssemblyFirmware
Source CodeMIT-WPU LAB
CASE FILE #06SPECIFICATION

Data Sentinel

High-performance encrypted log storage system resistant to tampering.

System Architecture:
RustPostgreSQLCrypto
Source CodeMIT-WPU LAB
EPHEMERA WALL // 03

Events & War Games

Printed tickets, war-room logs, and hackathon documentation from Hack-X flagship events at MIT-WPU.

ENTRY PASS #001Flagship / CTF

Hack MIT

March 2026•MIT-WPU PUNE

A university-wide flagship event featuring multiple tracks, including a specialized Capture The Flag (CTF) sub-track for cybersecurity enthusiasts.

STATUS: DOCUMENTED
Access Dossier
ENTRY PASS #002Hackathon
National Cyber Hackathon
ARCHIVE PHOTOGRAPH

National Cyber Hackathon

March 2026•MIT-WPU PUNE

A high-intensity, 24-hour national competition combining traditional software hacking with complex CTF challenges.

STATUS: DOCUMENTED
Access Dossier
ENTRY PASS #003Seminar

Cybersecurity Seminar

April 2026•MIT-WPU PUNE

A cybersecurity focused seminar/webinar aimed at enhancing technical awareness and industry exposure among students.

STATUS: DOCUMENTED
Access Dossier
ENTRY PASS #004Seminar

Bytes & Insights 26' (3rd Edition)

August 2026•MIT-WPU PUNE

A large-scale cybersecurity seminar featuring expert speakers and interactive sessions aimed at enhancing technical awareness.

STATUS: DOCUMENTED
Access Dossier
ENTRY PASS #005Podcast

HackTober 26'

October 2026•MIT-WPU PUNE

A professional podcast initiative focused on producing high-quality cybersecurity conversations, interviews, and knowledge-sharing.

STATUS: DOCUMENTED
Access Dossier
ENTRY PASS #006CTF
HACK-X CTF
ARCHIVE PHOTOGRAPH

HACK-X CTF

January 2027•MIT-WPU PUNE

A competitive offline/online CTF event planned to offer hands-on cybersecurity challenges and promote skill-building.

STATUS: DOCUMENTED
Access Dossier
LAB DISPATCHES // 04

Field Notes

The research notebook of Hack-X. Technical CTF writeups, hardware teardowns, and defensive build retrospectives.

OPEN RESEARCH NOTEBOOK
NOTE // 01CTF WRITEUP

Deconstructing Ciphathon CTF: Binary Exploitation & Canary Bypasses

Detailed memory layout inspection, analyzing stack canary behavior, and crafting ret2libc payloads during our 24-hour national hackathon CTF.

MARCH 20266 MIN READ
NOTE // 02HARDWARE SECURITY

SPI Flash Extraction: Dumping Microcontroller Firmware Over Hardware Busses

Physical bus tapping using logic analyzers, extracting raw hex dumps from SOIC-8 flash memory, and identifying squashfs partitions.

MAY 20268 MIN READ
NOTE // 03CYBER DEFENSE

Network Anomaly Triaging via Zero-Allocation Go Packet Filters

Engineering a low-latency packet inspection daemon in Go to identify port-scanning bursts without inducing CPU bottlenecks.

JUNE 20265 MIN READ
MANIFESTO // 06

The Philosophy

Why Hack-X exists at MIT World Peace University and how our community approaches technical exploration.

FIELD METHODOLOGY

A university collective built on genuine technical curiosity.

At MIT-WPU, cybersecurity isn’t a theoretical bullet point on a syllabus. It is a hands-on craft where students experiment with live networks, reverse compiled binaries, design CTF challenges, and examine hardware busses with logic analyzers.

1

Curiosity through experimentation

We believe the fastest way to understand complex protocols is to take them apart in a controlled lab environment.

2

Learning by building

Theory is only the blueprint. We construct physical testbeds, write custom packet triage scripts, and build functional open-source tools.

3

Responsible security research

Every technique practiced here operates within strict ethical boundaries, responsible disclosure principles, and academic integrity.

4

Cross-domain collaboration

Modern vulnerabilities exist at the intersection of firmware, network infrastructure, and web runtimes. We bring software and hardware minds together.

5

Open student access

No elitism, no gatekeeping. Whether you just installed Linux or have solved 50 CTF challenges, there is a place for your curiosity at Hack-X.

SYSTEM MAP // LIFECYCLEFIG. 04
01. OBSERVE & PROBEPHASE 1

Capture network packets, sniff logic busses, and map attack surfaces without preconceptions.

│ (Signal Tap)
v
02. DECONSTRUCTPHASE 2

Disassemble binaries in Ghidra/GDB, read memory registers, identify failure states.

│ (Logic Verification)
v
03. HARDEN & SHAREPHASE 3

Implement mitigation patches, publish open-source tooling, and write lab notes for the community.

“Build it yourself to understand why it breaks.”
ROSTER FILE // 05

The People Behind The Work

Student leadership, research leads, and core contributors driving technical initiatives at MIT-WPU.

STUDENT COLLECTIVE ROSTER
ID #01MIT-WPU
AR

Alex Rivera

President & Founder

Specializing in zero-day research.

Focus:
Memory ExploitationKernel SecurityArchitecture
VERIFIED LEAD
ID #02MIT-WPU
SC

Samantha Chen

Lead Security Researcher

Passionate about malware analysis.

Focus:
Malware TriageReverse EngineeringBinary Diffing
VERIFIED LEAD
ID #03MIT-WPU
JH

Jordan Hayes

Technical Director

Expert in web exploitation and crypto.

Focus:
CryptographyWeb Vulnerability ResearchCTF Engineering
VERIFIED LEAD
ID #04MIT-WPU
PP

Priya Patel

Community Manager

Bridging the gap for beginners.

Focus:
Community GrowthWorkshop PedagogyOpen Research
VERIFIED LEAD
RECRUITMENT NOTICE // COHORT 2026–27

THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING
LEFT TO FIGURE OUT.

Curious about how systems work, how they fail, or how to build something better? Find your place in the Hack-X community at MIT-WPU.

MIT World Peace University Campus, Kothrud, Pune
APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR 2026–27