Capture the Flag & Cyber Cups

WHAT IS A CTF?

CTF stands for "Capture the Flag," which is a common format for security competitions. Pieces of information called "flags" are put inside of servers, images, websites, or otherwise hidden so that they are difficult to access. Flags can be acquired by hacking a website, reverse engineering a piece of code, decrypting a message, or a variety of other means. The goal of the competition is to find flags. Competitors can then submit flags to earn points.

PicoCTF is a good starting point for learning competitive ethical hacking. PicoCTF is the largest annual CTF competition for middle and high schoolers, hosted by Carnegie Mellon University, but registration and problem sets from previous years are open year round.

FUTURE Competitions

SoCal Cyber Cup 2026

3-8 person team cyber cup competition for high schoolers and middle schoolers in SoCal area. Top 8 teams in each division advance to finals.

Historically, CCA has placed at this competition. We have placed first two times in the past three years.

picoCTF

Up to 5 person team CTF competition for high schoolers and middle schoolers, with challenges on topics including web exploitation, cryptography, reverse engineering, binary exploitation, and forensics.

Past Competitions

SoCal Cyber Cup (2025)

3-8 person team cyber cup competition for high schoolers and middle schoolers in SoCal area. Top 8 teams in each division advance to finals.

CCA placed 1st!

picoCTF (2025)

Up to 5 person team CTF competition for high schoolers and middle schoolers, with challenges on topics including web exploitation, cryptography, reverse engineering, binary exploitation, and forensics.

CCA's team les amateurs achieved 1st place!