DEF CON Capture the Flag
Catalog organization: DEF CON; 2026 organized by Benevolent Bureau of Birds
Compiled by: ExtracurricularHub Editorial Team — editorial policy
Last updated
Researched Aug 22, 2026
What Is DEF CON Capture the Flag?
DEF CON CTF is an advanced international cybersecurity team competition, not a high-school program. In 2026, new organizer Benevolent Bureau of Birds ran a 48-hour online qualifier beginning May 22 at 21:30 UTC. Teams solved binary exploitation, reverse engineering, cryptography, web exploitation, King-of-the-Hill, and LiveCTF challenges. The top 12 were invited to the in-person final at DEF CON 34 in Las Vegas in August. Both stages are over.
The 2026 qualifier had no team-size limit and no published minimum age, grade, school, citizenship, recommendation, or interview requirement. All players shared one team account and used the organizer Discord. Top teams had one week to respond and submit mainly human-written challenge writeups. Rules prohibited flag/solution sharing, attacks on contest infrastructure, fully or primarily autonomous teams, and direct affiliation with listed organizer sponsors under the conflict rule.
DEF CON Capture the Flag Key Facts: Cost, Deadline, and Eligibility
| Format | Hybrid |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | Grades 9–12 |
| Application deadline | Dates not announced — researched August 22, 2026 |
| Listing last updated | August 30, 2026 |
Program details shown here reflect the current catalog record.
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