HackerLab Feedback support bot

Stuck on a task, missing access, or sitting on a good idea for the site? HackerLab Feedback is the line to the team behind the HackerLab cybersecurity platform. You write to the bot and the reply comes back in the same chat. 🛠

The bot's profile says it handles technical support for the website, while questions about the tasks themselves belong in the platform's community chat.

What HackerLab is

HackerLab is a Russian platform for practicing information security skills. Its core is capture the flag (CTF) tasks that can be solved at any hour of the day.

Tasks are grouped by category: web, cryptography, reverse engineering, steganography, PWN, forensics and OSINT. There are also pentest machines, where you find and exploit vulnerabilities step by step inside a training corporate network. The interface is in Russian and new tasks appear regularly.

Why a support bot exists

A large platform produces questions all the time. The bot collects them in one place so that you do not hunt through several chats for the right person.

• Site problems. A page will not open, login fails, a flag submission breaks.
• Account questions. Access, profile, task status and progress.
• Feedback. Reviews of tasks, wishes and ideas for improvement.

Getting an answer faster

A one-line message with no details slows any support desk down. The more precisely you describe the situation, the quicker you get help.

1. State your username on the platform.
2. Describe the problem in a sentence or two.
3. Say what you already tried: another browser, a page reload, logging out and in again.
4. Attach a screenshot of the error if you have one.

Task hints: where to go

The bot exists for technical questions and feedback. For help with a task itself, head to the community chat, where people discuss approaches. You will not get a ready answer there, but you will get a direction. 🔍

The reason is simple: the point of CTF is learning. A ready flag teaches nothing, while a nudge about the type of vulnerability can save you an hour.

Feedback that changes something

Feedback helps when it is specific. Instead of "the task is bad", say what exactly is wrong: the statement is unclear, the description does not match the result, or flag checking misfires.

Good ideas are welcome too: a new category, handier filtering, a better rating system. Describe the problem you want solved and how you picture the result. That makes it easier for the team to weigh the suggestion and plan it. 💡

First steps for a beginner

If cybersecurity is new to you, pick the easiest category, such as web or steganography, and solve a few tasks in a row. Move on to cryptography and forensics afterwards. Keep notes on what you learned, because they become your personal cheat sheets.

Practice only on training grounds. Breaking into other people's sites and services without permission is illegal and can carry criminal liability. On a platform like this you rehearse legally the same techniques defenders use. ⚖️

If you study alone, set small goals: one task a day or three a week. That pace lasts longer than a weekend marathon.