UACTF is a Jeopardy-style, Capture the Flag
Cyber Security competition
for middle and high school students!
Do you have students that are ready to take on a challenge and test their cyber security skills? Then you should enter them in the 2026 University of Alabama Capture the Flag Cyber Security Competition sponsored by the University of Alabama Computer Science Department, Crimson Defense, and the Digital Forensics and Control Systems Security Lab. UACTF is for middle school students in the 6th - 8th grade and high school students in the 9th - 12th grade.
UACTF 2026 will have three competition divisions!!! Division 1 is for our more advanced high school teams, including teams that have participated in UACTF and other CTF competitions. Challenges in this division will span the entire gamut of cyber security areas with an emphasis on more advanced topics. We highly recommend a computer that runs Windows with a Kali Linux VM or Kali Linux natively with internet access. Specialized tools often have Windows versions that can be downloaded and installed prior to competition. Division 2 is geared toward our high school teams that do not have as much experience with cyber security and/or CTF competitions. The challenges in this division will still push the competitors, but will have fewer advanced challenges. The equipment needed to succeed in Division 2 is simply a computer of any kind with any OS and internet access (ideally unrestricted, or just with SafeSearch filters enabled through Google). Division 3 is for middle school students interested in learning and expanding their cyber security skills. The challenges in this division will introduce cyber security topics to students, emphasizing learning over competition.
UACTF 2026 will be a Jeopardy-style Capture the Flag Cyber Security Competition. Each category on the board will include easy, medium, and difficult challenges worth a varying amount of points. The objective is to solve the challenges to score as many points as possible. Categories will be selected from areas such as:
- binary exploitation
- code-breaking and decoding
- cryptography
- database security & SQL injection attacks
- digital forensics
- file and log analysis
- network traffic analysis
- open source intellignce
- password cracking
- reverse engineering
- social engineering
- website security
What you need, how to compete...
How to Participate
Team
Team size is limited to a maximum size of 4
6th - 8th or 9th - 12th grade students.
No limit to the number of teams per school.
Must have a school representative.
Computer
Your own computer/laptop.
All associative power cords/adaptors.
You may want to have a power strip.
Software
Your favorite software (disassemblers, development tools, hexadecimal viewers, virtual machines, kali etc).
Network
Challenges will be accessible via the Internet.
Make sure you can access the Internet on your computer/laptop.
Restrictions
Subject to Disqualification
Attack any machine other than the designated ones.
DoS UACTF infrastructure or University.
Modify the scoreboard.
Provide or receive assistance from any team other than your own.
Intentionally prevent other teams from flagging.
Event Details
Competition: UACTF 2026 will be held in a hybrid format. Teams will have the option to compete in-person on The University of Alabama campus or as part of a virtual competition. The virtual option will allow teams that cannot afford the travel costs an avenue to still participate in the competition. Team school representatives will be provided details after registration.
Divisions: Division 1 is for more advanced high school teams. Division 2 is for high school teams that do not have as much experience with Cyber Security and/or CTF competitions. Division 3 is for middle school teams.
When: Saturday, February 28, 2026, 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (Central)
Who Can Compete: 6th - 8th grade middle school students and 9th - 12th grade high school students. Maximum team size is 4 students. Each team must have a school representative; however, one person can represent multiple teams. Separate school representatives will only be required if a school has a team(s) competing in-person and a team(s) competing virtually. Teachers will receive a study guide to prepare students for competition after their team is registered.
Cost: There is no registration fee.
Prizes: There will be team awards for first, second, and third place in each division. Teams competing in-person will be eligible for additional awards and prizes.
Registration Deadline: Monday, February 2, 2026.
Questions: If you have any additional questions about the competition, please contact Dr. Travis Atkison.
Registration
Registration for this event is now closed.
Thank you competing in this year's UACTF Competition.
See you next year at UACTF 2026 - Saturday, February 28, 2026.
