picoCTF capture-the-flag competition prepares students for rewarding careers in cybersecurity

For the 12th consecutive year, picoCTF is introducing cybersecurity to the future workforce through its annual online hacking competition.

Geared toward college, high school, and middle school students, the competition offers a gamified way to practice and show off cyber skills. Competitors must reverse-engineer, break, hack, decrypt, and think creatively and critically to solve the challenges and capture the digital flags.

This year’s competition will take place from March 7 through March 17. Students interested in participating can register now by signing up for a free account at picoctf.org.

“picoCTF is unique because it is a free cybersecurity education platform from CMU, and it's helping to build nationwide capacity for cybersecurity, filling a desperate need in the process,” said Megan Kearns, picoCTF program director. “It’s a proven way to skill up, and it’s suitable for participants from middle school through industry, whether you want to learn something new or change careers.”

In addition to the annual competition, picoCTF offers yearlong learning guides and produces a monthly YouTube lecture series to help introduce cybersecurity principles, such as cryptography, web exploitation, forensics, binary exploitation, and reversing.

Available 24/7, the picoGym allows users from across the globe to practice what they’ve learned, providing access to newly released challenges, as well as challenges from past picoCTF competitions.

With more than 800,000 active users worldwide, the free picoGYM platform is a gateway into the world of cybersecurity, enabling anyone with access to a computer and internet to start building their skills.

“In order to keep the platform free to all users, we rely on community funding—industry sponsors, foundations and government grants,” said Kearns. “Maintaining this as publicly accessible and free is essential to building capacity in the United States and across the world, because there aren't enough programs available, and there are even fewer that are free and that have the type of reliable content that you get from the security experts at CMU.”

With this in mind, picoCTF is currently offering a limited number of exclusive sponsorship opportunities to companies and organizations seeking to build brand visibility among cyber oriented students across the world at the beginning of their journey, as well as with Carnegie Mellon University students and alumni.

Sponsorship packages are wide-ranging, starting at $10,000 for base sponsors who receive logo placement on the picoCTF sponsors page, a summary report on the picoCTF competition, and joint promotional opportunities.

Starting at the $50,000 level, government programs, foundations, and larger funders can sponsor specific competition scoreboards and initiate prizes for participants.

“Our partner sponsors, like those in Japan and Africa, connect organizations with emerging cybersecurity talent in key regions and learners with opportunities in education and industry,” said Kearns. “Sponsors gain visibility among engaged students and educators while supporting global access to cybersecurity education. It’s a direct way to reach target audiences and invest in the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.”

For more information on sponsoring the picoCTF competition, contact our sponsorship team at sponsor@picoctf.org.