Operation Phoenix

This CTF Event has concluded, materials and answer form have been removed.

Greetings, Special Agent K,

First of all, Happy New Year. Now, with the pleasantries out of the way, let’s get to business. We’ve been contracted by the Phoenix Police Department to help with a drug investigation. It appears a new drug called “Ash” has hit the streets of Phoenix, Arizona. Ash is a mix of MDMA, Ketamine and a whole bunch of other nasty ingredients. Highly addictive and cheap to manufacture. But that’s not all, unfortunately we have reason to believe that this drug is about to make its way outside of the US.

Informants for the Phoenix PD have picked up word on the street about a Mexican gang showing interest in Ash. They’re called “El Renacido”, which roughly translates to “The Reborn”. According to their sources, El Renacido have gotten a hold of the recipe for Ash and are planning to ramp up manufacturing in Mexico.

Given the dangers and addictive characteristics of this drug, we absolutely cannot let this happen. Currently, the federal agencies of the United States are all too occupied to collaborate on such an international affair. They’re all tasked with perp-walking some Italian plumber over and over. Unfortunately this is keeping all of their agents occupied, mama mia, I know. Hence leaving us to collaborate with the Phoenix Police Department and the Mexican authorities. Both have provided some materials, you’ll find all in the archive attached to this email.

Some interesting materials were intercepted during a routine traffic stop, near Phoenix Sky Harbor international airport. Phoenix PD detained a US citizen named Cleetus Boone. The sniffer dogs went off on his clothing and some ketamine was found. Upon further inspection, they found a USB drive attached to his keychain. This contained two encrypted files, a recipe archive and some instructions. Mr Boone claims these are his mothers’ secret Christmas recipes. However, there is a slight chance this might be something related to the drugs.

It’s your job to unlock these files and decipher whatever is inside. We believe there is a slight chance this is related to the new drug, Ash. It’s not much, but it’s the best possible lead we have so far. Of course, there is always a slight chance Mr Boone is being honest, and we’re about to gain access to some fantastic Christmas recipes of the Boone family.

As always, Special Agent K, the assignment is yours, if you choose to accept.