In short, no. All activities must be performed through the Virtual Desktops. This includes all activities against the network and these systems will be the only ones that can be used to access the network. Competitors may not install any software or modify the physical host systems that they are using to access the Virtual Desktop systems. The environment has been designed so that no additional resource, such as GPU based password crackers or expanded CPUs, are necessary.
See May I use my personal machine? for details about BYOD regions where competitors may use their own personal systems to connect to the Virtual Desktops. Competitors may not use their personal systems for any additional activities related to the test.