Hivestorm
A cyber-defense competition where teams of 2-4 secure virtual machines, remove malware and threats, and harden systems to score points, emphasizing practical security and system-administration skills.
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HSCTF (High School Capture the Flag)
An international online hacking competition designed for high schoolers where teams of up to 5 crack codes, reverse engineer, design algorithms, and solve web/crypto challenges. Student-organized and beginner-accessible.
ångstromCTF
A capture-the-flag competition organized entirely by students at Montgomery Blair High School focusing on system/network administration, programming, and reverse engineering. Beginner-to-intermediate friendly and online.
National Cyber Cup by CYBER.ORG
A free, jeopardy-style capture-the-flag competition from CYBER.ORG exploring reverse engineering, decryption, programming, and networking, with a dedicated high school division.
CyberStart America
A free national online program delivered by the SANS Institute with 200+ gamified challenges covering cryptography, web exploitation, Python, forensics, and code-breaking, serving as the qualifying platform for the National Cyber Scholarship.
MetaCTF CyberGames
An annual jeopardy-style capture-the-flag hosted by MetaCTF with challenges across binary exploitation, cryptography, web exploitation, forensics, and reverse engineering, open to all skill levels including high schoolers.
GenCyber Camps
NSA- and NSF-funded free, one-week cybersecurity camps hosted at universities across the country covering internet safety, cryptography, ethics, network scanning, and core security principles. No prior experience required.