Getting Started

Contents:

• MSP-LITO-L2228 Board
• Reference Design Boot Walkthrough
• Docker
• Machine Setup
• OpenOCD

This section of the docs will help with getting your machine set up to compete in the 2026 eCTF! The purpose of this competition is to help develop your skills in software, hardware, embedded systems, and security. Don’t worry if some of these are new to you; the point is to learn!

Tip

We recommend starting with reading Start Here to help your team get started off on the right foot.

Your team is responsible for developing the firmware to run on the MSP-LITO-L2228 board. To allow for standardization of builds, firmware compilation will be done utilizing Docker, a tool that creates reproducible build environments. Example code for this competition, as well as examples provided by Texas Instruments, will be provided in C. Your team is welcome to use other pre-approved languages (see Allowed Programming Languages). Any languages outside of these will require approval from the organizers.

To get your bearings, we recommend the familiarizing yourself following pages in order:

1. MSP-LITO-L2228 Board - To learn how to connect the hardware components that you will use

2. eCTF Bootloader - To add the insecure bootloader to your development boards

3. Design Phase Flags - To understand the design phase at a high level. You don’t have to understand the details immediately.

4. Attack Phase Flags and Scenarios - To understand the attack phase at a high level. You don’t have to understand the details immediately.

5. Reference Design Boot Walkthrough - To get started with the reference design