Objection to mandatory screen recording without limits on use or retention

Dear Organizers, Members of the Jury, and Members of the Steering Committee,

We, the undersigned members of the CTF community, participating in this year’s European Cyber Security Challenge, are writing to express our opposition to the mandatory screen-recording requirement and, in particular, to organizers’ ability to access those recordings on demand without clearly defined and binding restrictions. We believe it is reasonable to expect an access-control model in which players retain control over their own recordings, rather than having to rely solely on trust in how the data is handled.

We recognize and support the responsibility of the organizers and jury to protect the integrity of the competition. Fair play, effective enforcement of the rules, and credible investigation of suspected misconduct are essential to an event that we value. We do not object to reasonable oversight.

Screen recordings can capture considerably more than evidence relevant to a competition. They may expose private communications, credentials and personal information. Requiring players to create such recordings introduces risks even before anyone accesses them. Those risks cannot be addressed solely through assurances that access will be exercised responsibly.

Participants should not have to accept uncertainty about who may inspect their recordings, what circumstances justify inspection, which portions may be reviewed, or how long the recordings would be retained for. We are not willing to rely solely on assurances that the recordings will be encrypted, access will not be abused and the stated retention practices would be followed.

We therefore ask that the mandatory recording and unlimited access with no oversight be withdrawn in its current form, and that enforcement be suspended or overhauled for a setup where the player controls access to their own recording, and provides it on-demand when requested by the jury if there is suspicion of misconduct.