Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

CMU To Host Nationwide High School Computer Security Contest, Oct. 27-Nov. 7

  • 10/17/14

Pittsburgh — Carnegie Mellon University Professor David Brumley and two student teams will host the second annual PicoCTF competition, a nationwide online computer security contest aimed to help high school students learn the basics of hacking in the context of a story-driven game.

The competition, which drew nearly 2,000 teams from 1,000 schools last year, will be held Oct. 27-Nov. 7 at http://picoctf.com.

"The main goal of this competition is to excite young minds about computer security and inspire the next generation of computer scientists in our country," said Brumley, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and the technical director of Carnegie Mellon CyLab, a world leader in research and education in information assurance, security technology, business and policy, and security awareness. Building on more than two decades of Carnegie Mellon leadership in information technology, CyLab is a university-wide initiative that involves over 50 faculty and 100 graduate students from more than six different departments and schools.

Brumley will co-host the event with Carnegie Mellon student hacking teams Plaid Parliament of Pwning of CyLab and Team Daedalus of CMU's Entertainment Technology Center.

PicoCTF challenges both novices and experts through a "Capture the Flag" (CTF) interactive game, in which participants capture virtual "flags" by reverse engineering, breaking, hacking or decrypting challenges. Unlike traditional exams or courses, the contest offers open-ended problems that can be solved in many ways, usually requiring independent research and encouraging student exploration.

There will be over $30,000 in prizes for this year's event, as well as new tools designed to help teachers participate in PicoCTF as a classroom activity. Winners of the competition will be flown to Carnegie Mellon for an immersion day and award presentation.

Participation in the competition is free and open to students in grades 6-12. Interested participants can register on the competition website at http://picoctf.com.

The event is partially supported by funds from Trend Micro, The Boeing Company, Qualcomm Incorporated, the National Science Foundation, and the National Security Agency.

Featured

  • Philadelphia Middle School Facility Earns LEED Gold Certification

    The Alternative Middle Years (AMY) at James Martin Middle School in Philadelphia, Penn., recently received a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, according to a news release. The School District of Pennsylvania partnered with KSS Architects on the project.

  • GeoCam and UCLA: Modernizing Campus Accessibility Mapping

    In early 2025, UCLA partnered with GeoCam to capture and modernize its pedestrian infrastructure data. The goal was ambitious but clear: to produce a high-accuracy, imagery-backed digital map of every sidewalk, pathway, ramp, and ADA-related feature on UCLA’s 419-acre campus.

  • Johns Hopkins Starts Construction on New Residence Hall, Dining Facility

    The Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., recently began construction on a new residence hall and dining facility, according to university news. The work involves demolishing the existing Alumni Memorial Residence Hall I, which was built in 1923, to make room for the new facility.

  • Building Beyond Simulation: Creating Immersive Ecosystems for Healthcare Education

    Health sciences education is one of the fastest-growing facility types in colleges and universities. The demand for medical, nursing, and allied health professionals is driving the creation and renovation of medical simulation training facilities that provide students with real-world experience through advanced simulation-based learning.