The Pirate’s Flag – Capture the Flag Challenge

The Pirate’s Flag is a four-hour Capture the Flag cybersecurity competition conducted as part of Zettaabyte 5.0. Participants will solve practical challenges, uncover hidden flags and earn points across multiple cybersecurity categories. Event Details: Date: 11 September 2026. Time: 10:00 AM. Venue: TRCAC, Dahisar East. Entry Fee: Free. Team Size: 1–2 members. Format: One-round, offline CTF. Platform: CTFd with a live leaderboard. Total Challenges: 20. Maximum Score: 1,000 points. Challenge Categories: Web Application Security. Cryptography and Encoding. Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT). Digital Forensics. Network and Log Analysis. Reverse Engineering. General Cybersecurity. Competition Format: All teams will begin simultaneously and receive access to the challenges when the competition starts. Each challenge will contain a hidden flag in the format specified by the organizers. Participants must discover and submit flags on the CTFd platform to earn points. Challenges will have different point values depending on their difficulty. Teams may attempt the challenges in any order during the four-hour competition. Judging Criteria: Rankings will be based on the total points earned within four hours. The top three teams will secure first, second and third place. If two or more teams have equal points, the team that reached the final score first will receive the higher position. Only flags submitted before the competition closes will be considered. Rules: Participants may compete individually or in teams of two. Each participant may register and participate only once. Team members cannot be changed after the competition begins. Flag sharing, collaboration between different teams and external assistance are prohibited. Generative AI tools are not permitted during the competition. Participants may attack only the systems and challenges specifically provided by the organizers. Attacking CTFd, organizers, other participants, college infrastructure or external websites is strictly prohibited. Denial-of-service attacks, destructive testing and unnecessary automated brute-force attacks are prohibited. Any violation of the rules may result in immediate disqualification. The organizers’ decision will be final. Eligibility and Requirements: The competition is open to college students interested in cybersecurity, ethical hacking and problem-solving. Beginners are welcome, and previous CTF experience is not mandatory. Participants must bring their own laptop and charger. They may use standard cybersecurity and analysis tools such as browser developer tools, Burp Suite, CyberChef, Wireshark, ExifTool and terminal utilities. Rewards: First Place: Trophy and Certificate. Second Place: Trophy and Certificate. Third Place: Trophy and Certificate. Crack the codes, expose the vulnerabilities, capture the flags and claim the treasure!