Briefing
Greetings, Special Agent.
So bit of a different task we got on our hands this time. The local Police Department has their hands full with a murderer. New cases every week, severed limbs and cut eyes and all, very horrible stuff. Due to the nature of the killings, public pressure is mounting and the city is rapidly panicking. Your task is simple, catch the killer. Below you’ll find the summary of the killings up until this point, the victims and timeline of events. Good luck on this one, there’s a lot of pressure on this.
As always, Special Agent, the contract is yours, if you choose to accept.
Materials
Step 01
What do all the victims have in common? Why are they being targeted? (one word answer)
Step 02
Alright not sure how you’re getting on with figuring out why these people are targeted, but we believe the killer just left us another clue. We received the follow message with 3 attached images: “You missed a few, they deserve to rest properly” Below are the images of the three locations, identify where these are so the local police units can look for bodies. We need the names of the locations.
Step 03
Excellent work on finding the locations, the state of the victims matches the killers MO exactly. In a twist of fate, or by the hands of the killer, we’ve received an anonymous tip regarding a video that surfaced. It’s on a completely new YouTube channel, no other content posted, we believe the account to be a sock puppet. We need you to find out the meaning of the video on this channel. Does this get us anywhere?
Step 04
Amazing job on finding the meaning of that message. Local PD wat chasing down a rabbit hole deep enough to come out China, excellent work. So we just got word of a new missing person, her name is Julia Morena, 35 years old from 210-200 W 4th St, Hinsdale, IL 60521. Julia never arrived for her evening shift at the hospital two days ago, her coworkers couldn’t reach her so they contacted her family. After getting nowhere, they contacted us. Please locate Julia and find out if her disappearance is related to the killings. We will need her location, dead or alive unfortunately. I suggest you keep an eye out in case the killer posts something about this.
Step 05
Alright so big hit today! There was a note found at the local university, people got suspicious at the request stated on this note and contacted the local police. The person stated on the note is not familiar at the university, the needed email address had also been cut off. We sent the original note for forensic analysis to the lab, this will however take several days. Attached below you find a typed out copy of the note as found in the university.
Step 06
After looking at CCTV footage, we have identified the killer to be Kaylee Ann Taylor, a 41 year old DevOps engineer at the university. Local police raided her residence, but found nobody there except her pets. Speaking to her neighbors, it turns out she left town and asked them to take care of her home for a while. So far we are investigating the house and surrounding area.
Local police has taken a laptop that was left behind, this device contained a lot of files that are being looked into. However, one file on the desktop immediately stood out. So far our Red Team has not brute-forced it yet, perhaps you can have a crack at it using your knowledge of the subject? In the meantime, we’ll be checking for credit card payments, cellphone calls and local traffic cameras’. BOLO went out already and all Chicago news outlets will plaster her face on every screen possible.
Find out where Kaylee Ann Taylor is hiding.
Answer Instruction
Use the answer to unlock the flagfile, this will reward you with your badge.
Find out where the killer is hiding.
Answer structure: name-of-location-zipcode-city-state-country
Answer sample: green-trees-motor-homes-12345-seattle-washington-usa
Flagfile
Be advised, the flagfile is an encrypted ZIP. Make sure your OS supports the ZIP format. Ensure the password contains no hidden characters or formatting, paste in Notepad first if the password doesn’t seem to work.
PS: Don’t forget to claim your Coins and XP, by posting your card in the #card-brag channel in Discord.
Official Write-up
Provided here is the official write-up, it does contain the answer. Use this if you’re stuck, or want to verify if you got the answer correct.
⚠️ SPOILER: Official Write-up
The Midnight Slayer
The Midnight Slayer is a contract (CTF challenge) on the Hacktoria platform. The objective is to assist the Chicago Police Department in identifying and locating a serial killer known as “The Midnight Slayer” who has been targeting people with heterochromia. The killer has left clues that need to be deciphered to uncover their identity and whereabouts.
Briefing
The Chicago Police Department has reached out to the Hacktoria community for assistance in identifying and locating a serial killer dubbed “The Midnight Slayer.” The killer has been targeting individuals with heterochromia, a condition where a person has two differently colored eyes. As the investigation progresses, the killer leaves cryptic clues and messages that need to be deciphered to uncover their identity and location.
Write-up
Step 1: Identifying the Killer’s Victims
- Analyze the police report to find patterns or shared traits among the victims
- Discover that all victims have heterochromia (a condition where someone has two differently colored eyes)
- Conclude that the killer is targeting people with heterochromia
Answer: The killer is targeting individuals with heterochromia.
Step 2: Tracking the Locations
- Receive a message from the killer with three attached images of locations
- Use Google Lens and reverse image search to identify the locations:
- Loretto Hospital in Chicago, Illinois
- Mount Emblem Cemetery in Elmhurst, Illinois
- North Park University Vikings athletics department in Chicago, Illinois
- Inform local police units to search for bodies at these locations
Answer: The three locations are Loretto Hospital, Mount Emblem Cemetery, and North Park University Vikings athletics department.
Step 3: Decoding the Killer’s Message
- Analyze a cryptic video titled “They Are Here” posted by the killer on a new YouTube channel
- Extract the audio and use a spectrogram to reveal a hidden message: theyarehereamongus.blogspot.com
- Explore the blog “They Are Here Among Us” on Blogspot, run by the killer under the alias “Alien Catcher”
- Discover the killer’s delusional belief that people with heterochromia are “aliens in disguise”
Answer: The hidden message in the video leads to the killer’s blog, revealing their delusional belief that people with heterochromia are aliens.
Step 4: Tracking the Missing Victim
- Investigate the disappearance of Julia Morena, a 35-year-old woman from Hinsdale, IL
- Find a new post on the killer’s blog with italicized letters spelling out “fills ballots necks”
- Realize that the phrase is a What3Words location for Laramie Park in Chicago
- Discover that Julia Morena has been found deceased at the location
Answer: Julia Morena’s body is located at Laramie Park in Chicago, as indicated by the What3Words location “fills ballots necks.”
Step 5: Unraveling the Note
- Analyze a note found at a local university requesting help from someone named Marlene Esther-Obdam
- Use Blackbird to search for the name on social media platforms
- Find a Twitter account with the username marleneobdam
Answer: The killer’s Twitter account is found under the username marleneobdam.
Step 6: The Final Puzzle
- Identify the killer as Kaylee Ann Taylor, a 41-year-old DevOps engineer at the university
- Attempt to open a password-protected zip file found on her laptop
- Use the names of her three pet cats mentioned in an early Twitter post as the password
- Unlock the zip file to find a one-way flight ticket from Chicago to Reno/Tahoe
Answer: The password to unlock the zip file is the combination of the names of Kaylee Ann Taylor’s three pet cats.
Step 7: Tracking the Killer’s Hideout
- Analyze an image posted by the killer on Twitter
- Use reverse image search to find similar locations in Death Valley
- Identify the location as Space Station RV Park in Beatty, Nevada, based on the rocks, concrete boulders, and mountain range
- The final flag is: space-station-rv-park-89003-beatty-nevada-usa
Answer: The killer, Kaylee Ann Taylor, is hiding at the Space Station RV Park located at 400 US-95, Beatty, NV 89003, United States.
Conclusion
This write-up outlines the steps taken by the player to solve The Midnight Slayer contract on Hacktoria. By analyzing clues, decoding messages, and using various online tools, the player successfully identifies the killer as Kaylee Ann Taylor, tracks her movements, and ultimately discovers her hiding place at Space Station RV Park in Beatty, Nevada. The final flag to complete the contract is: space-station-rv-park-89003-beatty-nevada-usa.
Creator(s): Frank Diepmaat