Hands-on offensive security training
Learn to find the vulnerabilities
people and AI miss.
WarZones are full Applications rebuilt from vulnerabilities we found hacking Fortune 500 companies. Blitz WarZones score each vulnerability the moment you exploit it. In full-report WarZones, researchers who hack for a living review what you write.
- Official Synack Red Team Preferred pathway
- 2,500+ hackers on Barracks
- Built by a former full-time bug bounty hunter and a 5-year Synack Red Team Hero
Pick your way in
For hackers, security teams and colleges
Same WarZones, three ways to use them: practise on your own, upskill your security team, or train your students.
For hackers
Hunt real Applications, free
Blitz WarZones score each vulnerability the moment you exploit it. Full-report WarZones get your write-up reviewed. Climb a public leaderboard as you go.
For teams
Train your team on AI and Application vulnerabilities
A private one-day WarGame for your security or developer team, then a Team Skill Benchmark. Hiring? Run the same WarZone on candidates.
For universities
Hands-on security training for your campus
Techfest WarGames and bootcamps. Students earn certificates anyone can verify, evidence your placement cell can use.
How it works
Pick a WarZone. Hunt. Climb the leaderboard.
WarZones are full Applications with vulnerabilities we planted, rebuilt from real finds in the wild. Here's what one hunt looks like.
Pick a WarZone, from Easy to Expert
Each WarZone is a full Application: logins, user roles, APIs, and the boring settings page too. No flags to grab. Just vulnerabilities, like a real target.
Hunt it like a real target
Two ways to play. In a Blitz WarZone, each vulnerability is detected the moment you exploit it and your points land live, no report needed. In a full-report WarZone, you chain what you find and write it up the way you would on a real program, and researchers who hack for a living review it.
Climb the leaderboard and earn proof you can show
Valid findings move you up the public leaderboard. Certificates you earn can be checked by anyone at verify.barracks.army.
You're not on your own. Follow a learning path or ask in our Discord.
Why WarZones
Most practice never shows you how you hack
Use HTB and TryHackMe for breadth. Use Barracks to see how you work on a full Application, and what to fix next.
Courses and videos
You watch someone else hack.
- Good for the idea
- Someone else's target
- No report to write
You learn it. You haven't done it.
CTFs and labs
You find the flag, then stop.
- One answer per box
- Scripted paths
- Flag, not a report
You never see the other vulnerabilities
Real bug bounty programs
You hunt on your own.
- Nobody shares the full answer
- Duplicates are common
- Feedback can take weeks
Silence, or a duplicate
Barracks WarZones
We know the full answer.
- Full Applications
- Every planted vulnerability known
- Easy to Expert
- Report reviewed
Practice on full Applications, not puzzles
Disclosed reports
Learn from real reports, written by fellow hackers.
When a WarZone retires, hackers can choose to publish their reports. Read how others broke it, what passed review and what didn't, then write yours better.
- Only from retired WarZones
- Published by the hackers who wrote them
- Reviewed by our team, not unvetted blog writeups
- Accepted, duplicate and rejected, so you see what passes review
- Steps, impact and fix, written for a real reviewer
Live and running
Real hackers, real hunts.
Live WarGames at conferences and colleges, and hackers hunting on the platform in between.
3 in 4
found zero valid vulnerabilities
at our live WarGames. WarZones are built to close that gap.
5,074
WarZones spawned
at live events and on the platform
1,653
reports at live WarGames
across 8 events
39
WarZones built
full Applications, live and retired
Coming up
Beyond the Agent: a 4-weekend AI bootcamp
Live with the founders in December. One batch, 12 seats.
See the bootcampWhat practitioners say
Hackers and security leads who've used WarZones
“WarZone environments mirror what you hit in the wild, which is exactly what the next generation of hackers need to practice on.”
Mustafa Can İpekçi
Synack Red Team
“The scale and depth of the enterprise-level simulations in some of the premium WarZones are impressive.”
Viren Pawar
Senior Pentester, Mercedes-Benz
“The WarZones, paired with my Team's or a Candidate's Performance insights, saves a Tremendous amount of time and bandwidth from a Business Perspective.”
Bhashit Pandya
Founder & CEO, Ownux Global
The founders
Built by two hackers from Ahmedabad
Barracks Technologies LLP · Ahmedabad · [email protected]
Questions
Before you start
Is it free? What does Pro cost?
Do I need experience?
Do I have to write a report?
What if I get stuck?
What is the Synack Red Team pathway? Is it guaranteed?
Can my company or college pay?
Is this legal?
Stop guessing if you're ready.
For teams and colleges
Talk to our team for 20 minutes
Tell us about your team or your campus. Satyam or Kuldeep will tell you honestly whether we're a fit.
Book a 20-minute walkthrough