William Henry :
In a daylong test of technical skill, strategy, and composure, the Washington University of Science and Technology (WUST) hosted its 2026 Cybersecurity Capture the Flag (CTF) Competition, drawing students from across Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland to its Alexandria campus for a hands-on showcase of ethical hacking talent.
Held in the university’s SOC lab, the competition brought together a broad range of participants, from high school students to graduate-level competitors, underscoring the growing interest in cybersecurity across multiple levels of education. The event challenged teams to work through four stages of simulated cybersecurity scenarios, requiring them to identify vulnerabilities, exploit target systems, and capture hidden digital “flags” using widely recognized tools such as Wireshark, Metasploit, and Nmap.
The competition was organized by the WUST SOC team, led by Dr. Necmi Mutlu, faculty lead in the School of IT and SOC Chief Advisor, along with Mahmood Menon Khan, Assistant Professor and SOC Lab Coordinator. Additional support in designing and preparing the competition came from SOC assistants Injamamul Haque and Ishak Mutlu.
An evaluation panel that included Associate Professor Dr. Farhana Sarker and lab assistant Fahad Ferdous assessed teams after each stage. In the final standings, George Mason University team “AOD” claimed first place with a perfect score of 100%. The WUST Girls team, “Zeroday Warriors,” earned second place with 85%, while Pinnacle Academy High School’s “White Hat Pumas” finished third with a score of 75%.
During the certificate ceremony, WUST Chancellor and Chairman Abubokor Hanip congratulated participants and praised the winners, emphasizing the importance of expanding similar competitions in the future. WUST President Dr. Hasan Karaburk also highlighted the value of practical learning, noting that events like the CTF help students build real-world knowledge through direct experience.
The event also drew visits from several university leaders and staff members, including Dr. Jeffery Pirim, Dr. Touhid Bhuiyan, Rachele Rose, Dr. Sergei Andronikov, Jose Ortega, Dr. Amalisha Sabie-Aridi, and Md. Golam Mostofa, among others.
By combining competition with applied learning, the WUST Cybersecurity CTF Competition 2026 offered more than a scoreboard. It served as a clear sign of how institutions are preparing the next generation of cybersecurity professionals through rigorous, hands-on experience in an increasingly critical field.
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