ByteSec

Interactive cybersecurity learning platform for guided lessons, graded activities, and CTF-style practice labs.

Built with Flask, markdown course content, and integrated challenge services for hands-on security education.

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Interactive Cybersecurity Learning Platform

ByteSec is a web platform for learning cybersecurity through guided modules, short activity checks, article publishing, community challenge sharing, and hands-on challenge practice. It brings structured lesson flow and CTF-style exercises into one interface for both learners and admins.

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Overview

Item	Details
Name	ByteSec
Type	Web-based cybersecurity learning platform
Stack	Flask, Flask-SQLAlchemy, Jinja, Tailwind CSS, SQLite, optional Turso
Focus	Web exploitation, reverse engineering, cryptography, pwn, and Windows forensics
Activity Types	Multiple choice, predict the output, fill in the blank, spot the vulnerable line, flag submission
Included Areas	Courses, articles, community challenges, leaderboards, profile management, and admin review pages

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Features

• Guided course tracks loaded from modules/
• Interactive lesson checks with immediate feedback
• Multiple activity formats for concept validation and hands-on practice
• Downloadable challenge materials and challenge service integration
• Course progress tracking and leaderboard support
• Article submission and review workflow
• Community challenge submission, review, approval, and solve flow
• Theme toggle, authentication, and profile editing
• Admin surfaces for article, challenge, and service management

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Problem Solved

Security learning often gets split across slide decks, notes, challenge portals, and separate practice environments. ByteSec closes that gap by combining structured explanation, interactive checking, and challenge practice in one application so learners can move from concept to execution without changing tools.

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Demo Account

Username	Password	Access
demo	demo123	Demo account with admin access

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Screenshots

The gallery below was captured with Playwright using demo/capture_readme_screenshots.py.

Public Pages

Landing

Sign In

Register

Learning Flow

Dashboard

Course Catalog

Course Track

Multiple Choice Activity

Predict Activity

Fill in the Blank Activity

Spot the Vulnerability Activity

Flag Submission Activity

Leaderboard

Articles and Community

Articles

Article Detail

New Article

Community

Challenge Detail

Submit Challenge

Account and Admin Pages

Submissions

Profile

Admin Articles

Admin Community

Admin Docker

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Technology Stack

Core Application

• Flask 3.1
• Flask-SQLAlchemy 3.1
• Jinja templates
• Vanilla JavaScript
• Tailwind CSS CDN
• Google Material Symbols

Data and Runtime

• SQLite
• Optional Turso via the bundled pure-Python HTTP driver
• Runtime data under instance/
• Vercel-compatible entrypoint in api/index.py

Content and Tooling

• Markdown course modules
• Docker Compose
• GCC and Make
• Playwright for README screenshot capture

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Prerequisites

Make sure these are installed on your machine:

• Python with SQLite support
• pip
• Docker and Docker Compose
• GCC and Make

If startup fails with ModuleNotFoundError: No module named '_sqlite3', use a Python build that includes SQLite.

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How to Run

1. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Start the App

flask --app app run --debug

You can also run:

python app.py

Default URL:

http://127.0.0.1:5000

3. Optional Environment Variables

BYTESEC_HOST
BYTESEC_PORT
SECRET_KEY
BYTESEC_ADMIN_USERS
TURSO_DATABASE_URL
TURSO_AUTH_TOKEN

4. Database Commands

Create missing data without wiping users:

flask --app app ensure-db

Reload markdown course content while preserving registered users:

flask --app app refresh-course

Fully wipe and recreate the database:

flask --app app init-db

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Run App and Challenge Services

The helper script manages the Flask app plus the Docker-backed services:

./scripts/dev-services.sh start
./scripts/dev-services.sh status
./scripts/dev-services.sh logs
./scripts/dev-services.sh restart
./scripts/dev-services.sh stop

Default service locations:

Service	Endpoint
ByteSec web app	http://127.0.0.1:5000
EzSQLi challenge	http://127.0.0.1:8004
Ret2win challenge	nc 127.0.0.1 9001
Docker admin dashboard	http://127.0.0.1:5000/admin/docker

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Made by Kelompok 4

Name	Student ID
Jonathan Irvin Susanto	2802440430
Owen Ourelio Bong	2802461196
Huang Earl Gunawan	2802444523
Haikal Satrio Dewandaru	2802459600
Fathia Ramadhanti Hardianto	2802477414