picoCTF aims to close the cybersecurity talent gap

According to the Global Technology Governance report, cyber-attacks have increased by more than 230 percent since April 2020, and with more than 700,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the U.S. alone, the need for talent is greater than ever.

Founded in 2013, CyLab's picoCTF has been working to introduce 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.

Since its launch, picoCTF has grown exponentially, becoming the world’s largest student-focused hacking competition, more than 18,000 participants in 2025.

However, during that span, organizers realized the annual event alone wasn’t enough to achieve the mission of closing the talent gap. So in 2019, picoCTF expanded, implementing a year-round learning platform where anyone, not just students, can learn and develop cybersecurity skills for free.

“Adding cost to education creates barriers that already exist in our society,” said Hanan Hibshi, an assistant teaching professor at CMU’s Information Networking Institute (INI) and research advisor for picoCTF. “Schools are already facing shortages in offering computer science courses, let alone courses that introduce cybersecurity. Our goal with picoCTF is to provide resources to students no matter where they live and what school they attend.”

Today picoCTF offers learning guides and produces a monthly YouTube lecture series to help introduce cybersecurity principles, such as cryptography, web exploitation, forensics, binary exploitation, and reversing. The picoGym allows users to practice what they’ve learned, providing access to newly released challenges, as well as challenges from past picoCTF competitions.

“Whether you are a cyber security professional, competitive hacker, or new to CTFs, you will find interesting challenges in the picoGym that you can solve at your own pace,” said picoCTF program director Megan Kearns.

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

In addition, picoCTF offers programs and resources for teachers looking to incorporate cybersecurity education into their curriculum. CMU students serve as picoCTF ambassadors in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas, visiting classrooms to help onboard students to the picoCTF platform and review basic security engineering concepts, methods, and terminology.

“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.