Difficulty: Beginner-Friendly | Category: OSINT

Hey again,

I'm Chetan Chinchulkar (aka omnipresent), back with another challenge from the v1t CTF. If you caught my previous writeup about the wooden duck mystery, you know I’m all about that OSINT life. And this challenge? It perfectly combines two things the internet loves: Among Us and universities. What could go wrong? 😄

The Challenge: Among USniversity

Category: OSINT
Description:

Bro, I found “Among Us” at this school!
Can you spot the hidden acronym?
Wrap it in v1t{…} to submit your answer.

Example: University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City => v1t{UEH}

What we got: An image featuring Among Us characters at what appears to be a university campus.

When I first read “Among USniversity,” I’ll admit — I groaned a little. CTF challenge creators and their puns, am I right? But then I thought, “Okay, this is actually clever.” The challenge is literally hiding in plain sight in the title. Among US + University = we’re looking for a university acronym.

🔍 The Investigation Begins

Step 1: The Metadata Check (Old Habits Die Hard)

You know me by now — I always start with metadata. It’s like checking if your door is locked before leaving the house. Most of the time it’s locked (or in this case, empty), but that one time it’s not? Gold.

exiftool among_us_image.png

Result: Nothing useful. No GPS coordinates, no hidden comments, no secret messages from the challenge creator. Just a regular image file minding its own business.

But hey, we eliminated a possibility. That’s progress! ✅

Step 2: Visual Analysis (Detective Mode Activated)

Before jumping into reverse image search, I took a moment to actually look at the image. Sometimes the answer is right there in the visual elements:

• Among Us character (obviously)
• What appears to be a university building or campus
• Possibly some text or signage (depending on the image)

The challenge mentioned “this school,” which meant the image itself contained clues about a specific university. Time to let Google do its magic.

Step 3: Google Reverse Image Search (The MVP)

I uploaded the image to Google Images and hit search. Within moments, the results started rolling in.

And there it was: University of Information Technology (UIT)

The image was clearly from UIT — a public university in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The architecture, the setting, everything matched up perfectly.

🧩 Connecting the Dots

Here’s where reading comprehension matters (yes, those English classes in school were useful after all):

The challenge asked for the acronym, not the full university name. The example made this clear:

• University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City = UEH
• University of Information Technology = UIT

Following the flag format: v1t{UIT}

The Flag

v1t{UIT}

Submitted. Accepted. Another one down! 🎉

Key Takeaways (Because Learning Never Stops)

1. Read the Challenge Description Carefully

The example format was crucial. It explicitly showed we needed an acronym, not the full name. In CTFs, examples aren’t just for show — they’re hints disguised as instructions.

2. Challenge Titles Often Contain Hints

“Among USniversity” wasn’t just a clever pun — it was telling us exactly what to look for: a university with “US” potentially in its name or acronym. While UIT doesn’t have “US” in it, the wordplay primed us to think about university acronyms.

3. Context Clues Matter

The mention of Ho Chi Minh City in the example wasn’t random. It was a geographical hint pointing us toward Vietnamese universities. Always pay attention to seemingly “random” details in challenge descriptions.

4. Reverse Image Search Is Your Best Friend

Seriously, if I had a dollar for every OSINT challenge solved with reverse image search, I could probably afford all those CTF-related impulse purchases I keep making. 💸

🛠️ OSINT Toolkit Refresher

For this challenge, the essential tools were:

• exiftool — For metadata analysis (even when it yields nothing)
• Google Reverse Image Search — The hero of this story
• Critical thinking — Understanding what the challenge is actually asking for
• Attention to detail — Catching the acronym requirement

Pro tip: Sometimes the simplest approach is the right one. Don’t overcomplicate OSINT challenges — start with the basics and work your way up.

🎯 The “Among Us” Connection

Can we take a moment to appreciate how Among Us has infiltrated every corner of the internet, including CTF challenges? 😂

The game’s popularity made it perfect meme material for challenge creators. It’s relatable, it’s fun, and it makes challenges feel less like work and more like… well, still work, but fun work.

🤔 Your Turn: How Would You Approach This?

I’m curious — did you solve this challenge differently? Maybe you:

• Recognized the university building immediately?
• Used a different reverse image search tool like TinEye or Yandex?
• Found additional clues in the image I didn’t mention?

Drop your approach in the comments! I love learning new techniques from the community. 🚀

📚 What’s Next in the v1t CTF Series?

This is the second installment of my v1t CTF writeup series. So far we’ve covered:

1. ✅ Duck Company — The Wooden Duck Mystery
2. ✅ Among USniversity — This challenge!

Coming up next:

• More OSINT challenges (because I can’t get enough)
• Web exploitation
• Cryptography
• And whatever else v1t CTF throws at us!

Let’s Connect!

If you’re enjoying these writeups, let’s stay connected:

• TryHackMe Profile — Currently top 1%, let’s compete!
• LinkedIn — For networking and professional stuff
• Twitter/X — CTF updates, cybersecurity thoughts, and occasional memes

Enjoyed this writeup? Give it a clap 👏 (or several — I won’t judge your enthusiasm), and follow for more CTF content!

🎬 Final Thoughts

OSINT challenges like this one remind me why I love CTFs. They’re not just about technical skills — they’re about curiosity, pattern recognition, and sometimes just knowing how to use Google really, really well.

The beauty of OSINT is that it mirrors real-world scenarios. Whether you’re:

• Investigating a security incident
• Doing reconn for pentest
• Tracking down information for threat intelligence
• Or just trying to figure out where that cool Among Us photo was taken

…the methodology stays the same: observe, research, verify, and connect the dots.

Plus, you get to solve puzzles while pretending you’re a detective. Win-win!

P.S. — Keep the Among Us challenges coming — they’re not sus at all. 😎

P.P.S. — If you’re a UIT student reading this: your university is now immortalized in CTF history.