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Watch Dogs Guide: ctOS Breaches

Here's your Watch Dogs guide to the ctOS Breaches locations and tips to get them done.
This article is over 10 years old and may contain outdated information

Once you gained access to all the ctOS Centers and Towers throughout the many city districts in Watch Dogs, you’ll open up available ctOS Breaches. These are a cluster of utility boxes that represent security holes in the network. When you attempt to exploit such a breach, the system will attempt to shut you down. In other words, these are timed and must be completed before the clock runs out.

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You must be able to use your hacking skills to a max here in order to be successful. You don’t necessarily need to be up close and personal to hack it either. Use the environment and problem-solving skills to your advantage. Using security cameras can be very helpful as well. Just be smart and quick.

There are a total of 16 breaches throughout the city districts. Each one is worth 250 XP and unlocks an Audio Log. Upon successful completion of all 16 ctOS Breaches, you’ll unlock the System Mangler (Achievement).

ctOS Breach 1: Parker Square – Joseph Cemetery (Time Limit 2:30)

From the first box, turn around and swim northwest. Swimming is hard but going around will eat up precious time. The westernmost box is on the side of a gazebo. Hack it and head east hitting the other three boxes while in full sprint. The boxes are hidden.

ctOS Breach 2: Parker Square – Parker Square Marina (Time Limit 5:00)

Reach the first box by going behind the Fresh Table Restaurant and using the parked car to climb onto its roof. You can then hack the box. Jump down and start running east across the street. The pile of pallets by the fence will help you reach the next box, then grab a car and drive to the marina. The third box is at the end of the easternmost dock. You can jump over the fence and hack it from the shoreline. The fourth box is northwest on the roof of a store. Construction gangplanks on the wall will help to climb up and then blow up the propane tank. Hack the box, drop back down, head north and use the security camera to hack the last box.

ctOS Breach 3: Parker Square – Owl Motel (Time Limit 3:00)

This one is tricky since you’ll have to use a weapon in public and may possibly deal with cops as a result. If so, having some jam coms will be useful. So after you hack the first box, head north, jump the fence and down the sidewalk. Hack the second box on the roof of the house and then the third box is behind a fenced enclosure in someone’s yard. You can either shoot the pallets a bit to hack the box or hit the propane tanks to get to the box. The fourth box isn’t hard to find but it’s also blocked. You can use a grenade to destroy the pallet in order to hack the box. After that, use the security camera above to view and hack the fifth box. Now move and escape the police if they showed up.

ctOS Breach 4: Parker Square – Train Yard (Time Limit 4:00)

The first box is attached to the top of the crossing gate. Hack it, then head east and climb the construction gangplank to hack the second box at the top. Drop down and head south, the third box is hidden by a stack of concrete bricks. You have to stand on them in order to hack the box. Run around the fence, climb the short building to the storage yard and hack the fourth box via security camera. For the last box, use the security camera on the building across the street from it.

ctOS Breach 5: The Wards – Metropole Hotel (Time Limit 3:30)

The first box can be hacked from ground level, then turn and go north to reach the the next box’s building. You’ll need to use the security camera by the “For Lease” sign to hack it. Use the same camera to hack the next camera near the graffiti mural so you can hack the third box. Back out and run north through the basketball court. Hack the camera underneath the fourth box to hack the camera that’s even higher on the opposite building. Now you can hack the fourth box. The last box is on a balcony of a third-floor apartment street side. To hack it, use the camera from across the street above the parking lot.

ctOS Breach 6: Brandon Docks – Umani Technologies Inc. (Time Limit 4:00)

Here, you should order a truck from the Car Demand App or steal one. Use it to reach the first building’s exterior stairwell for the first box. Then hop the railing, turn left, move north, and run up the stairs on the side of the building. Follow to the top, hang right, run north until you find the second box, which is hidden by debris and a propane tank. Shoot the tank (don’t stand too close) and then hack the box. Head downstairs to ground level, moving north along the river’s west side. The third box is behind a locked fence. Hack the forklift, to raise the load for a clear line of sight. The fourth box is at the top of the construction gangplank and is hidden by wooden pallets. Use the forklift to climb the nearby scaffolding, shoot the propane tank and then use the security camera on the corner to hack the box. Head down to the river for the fifth box which is across the water underneath the bridge.

ctOS Breach 7: Brandon Docks – Radio Tower (Time Limit 4:30)

After the first hack, run west, jump onto the lift in the alley, raise to the roof, go north, and hack second box. Drop down, head east toward the white tower, look for the lift on your right and get in. Raise it up and use the security camera on the roof of the north building to hack the third box. Head north again and look for the billboard “Chicago’s Best Latte.” When you see it, stop, use the security camera on the building’s northwest corner to hack the fourth box. Back out, run west through the alley, turn north and look for the security camera on the underside of the overhead walkway. Use the camera to hack the fifth box which is in the far left.

ctOS Breach 8: Brandon Docks – Umeni Technologies Shipyard (Time Limit 5:10)

From the first box, run west around the fence and head north. Use the scissor lift next to the corner of the building to reach the second box (shoot the tanks if needed). Get down, head east into the parking lot, cross under the overhang and look for the camera above. Use it to hack the third box. head back north, next to the Umnei logo on the wall, use the security camera for the fourth box and then jump to the next camera for the fifth box.

ctOS Breach 9: Brandon Docks – Empty Office Space (Time Limit 4:30)

To access the first box, you can use the camera to hack or use the lift to reach it for hacking. The second box is close by; use the cargo crate in the elevator to climb and get in rnage to hack it. The third box is hidden by the cargo containers south of the road. Climb the containers, cross the open one and drop to the empty crate to hack the box. Climb back out, cross the road heading north and use the security cameras on the lumberyard lampposts to hack the last two boxes.

ctOS Breach 10: Brandon Docks – L-Train Rhodes (Time Limit 5:00)

Be careful here for the first box, since you have to eye the train schedule while standing on an elevated train track to hack it. After hacking it, head back to the L-Train Rhodes station, climb over the fence on the west and head up the stairs to get to the roof. Look from here to find and hack the box remotely. Head back downstairs to the street and open the gate. Use the nearby scissor lift to get to the third box. Head back to the stairs, climb over them and go over the fence to the northeast. Turn right at the pharmaceuticals and go eastwards. When you reach the stairs to the left, look for the security camera on the lamppost, view left and hack the fourth box. Northeast of where you opened the gate are a set of staircases that will lead you up to the filtration plant. Head there following the waypoint till you reach high enough to hack the fifth box.

ctOS Breach 11: The Loop – South Tech University (Time Limit 4:30)

First thing is grab the fastest and most mobile vehicle possible–a motorcycle. After hacking the first box, run southwest, head down to the waterfront and hack the second box. Head east on the boardwalk, go up the stairs on the left, and go east through the park. Check the side of the building with the Greek columns for the third box. Head to the bridge from here and check one of the support columns to find the fourth box to hack. Afterwards, drop into the water, grab a boat, and drive it to the other end to find a bridge column with the fifth box.

ctOS Breach 12: The Loop – Willis Tower (Time Limit 3:30)

After hacking the first box, go right across the street to find the second box on the side of the building to the west. Cross the street and go north, into the alley and use the security camera to view and hack for the third box. After this, cross the street and go north. Check again for a security camera on the building to the south. Use it and hack the fourth box. For the fifth box, exit the camera and move up the alley back onto the street. Turn left, head into the parking garage and the box is on the side of a pillar here.

ctOS Breach 13: The Loop – Eastern Waterfront (Time Limit 3:30)

You’ll need a motorcycle for this one as well. After hacking the first box, head northeast to find the second box near the tunnel entrances. After this, use the motorcycle and head northeast to find the third box next to the newsstand. Head to the bridge nearby and check the end near the waterfront to find the fourth box. Swim to the eastern rocky area and check the signal towers for the fifth box.

ctOS Breach 14: Mad Mile – Lipstick Killer-Ross Crime Scene (Time Limit 5:00)

This first box is located on the roof of a tall building. Use the scissor lift and a swing stage to get to the building roof. After hacking it, drop down to ground level and head east. Look right as you are near the box’s waypoint to find a security camera and then use it to hack the second box (behind some vegetation). Head north now and search for a sign that reads “F#$K YOU” to find the third box. Hack it, then head towards the fourth box waypoint that can be easily accessed. Afterwards, head across the street to find the fifth box on the wall of the building.

ctOS Breach 15: Mad Mile – Hanson Park (Time Limit 4:00)

After the first box, head east and hack the second box across the street. Head north over the fences and across the skybridge between the rooftops to find the third box underneath a staircase. The fourth box is to the west. Head from the rooftops to there, but make sure you are speedy. This box will be easy to get to if you have unlocked the ctOS tower in the area. Use the scissor lift and the balcony to get to the rooftop of the fourth box. Use the security camera nearby to gain access to the door,  then head through the door, past the AC units to find and hack the fifth box.

ctOS Breach 16: Mad Mile – Unknown (Time Limit 4:30)

So first box is located pretty far from the others. To make things faster, hack the first one, get down to ground level, and head northwest. The second box is on the side of an appointment building, which can be hacked using a security camera nearby. Check behind the building where the second box is to find an alley. The third box here should be on the wall. Head to the north to the parking lot of the Bank. Use the lift to get to the roof, using the ladder on the right to gain access to the third box. Be careful getting really close to the edge of the roof to get an angle on hacking the fourth box. Head back down to ground level and check for the fifth box behind a stack of cardboard boxes.

Don’t forget to turn to the Watch Dogs Guide Directory for tips, reviews and help!


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Author
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Venisia Gonzalez
Venisia is a public relations professional, video game industry contractor, published author, freelance entertainment journalist, copy editor, a co-organizer of the Latinx Games Festival, and a member of the Latinx in Gaming and the Puerto Rico Game Developers (PRGD) community. Her passion is video games. She loves the adrenaline rush from a multiplayer match and understands the frustrations of a brand-new raid. Venisia finds immense value in gaming especially in the realm of mental health.