Opens later, date not posted
picoCTF – Carnegie Mellon Cybersecurity Competition
Run by Carnegie Mellon University (CyLab)
Who can apply: Students worldwide aged 13 and up; under 18 needs parental consent
Cost and deadline
THIS PROGRAM IS
Free
DEADLINE TBA
Checked against the provider's page in Sep 2026.
FORMAT
Competitions and challenges
DURATION
10-day competition each spring (2026: March 9–19); practice platform open all year
GRADES
Middle school to college (age 13+)
LOCATION
Online
Who can apply
Students worldwide aged 13 and up; under 18 needs parental consent
About this program
A free capture-the-flag hacking competition from Carnegie Mellon: solve security puzzles in cryptography, web exploitation, forensics and reverse engineering. The picoGym practice site runs year-round with past challenges and guided lessons, so you can start well before the spring competition.