Five standout teams — Fluid Attacks, Colombia, Security Hub, Italy, Odin from ENKI WhiteHat, South Korea, VoidSec from IKLIGHT, Morocco, and CUT from Central University, Russia — emerged as the winners of the global competition, Kaspersky{CTF}, which concluded on the 30th of August. The 2026 edition featured corporate and academic teams competing in a Jeopardy-style format across five regions, uniting participants for 24 hours of security challenges.
Organized by the Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) and Kaspersky Academy for the second year in a row, Kaspersky{CTF} brought together 1,657 teams from 98 countries, marking an increase compared to last year’s debut. This year, the highest number of participants came from India, Russia, and Brazil.
In total, 1,024academic and633 corporate teams competed in the stress test of cybersecurity expertise. Participants tackled challenges across different categories including cryptography, binary exploitation, AI security, modern threat analysis and investigation, including cloud-based techniques, designed to mirror the evolving methods of real-world attackers. Out of 31 tasks, all were solved successfully, with participants submitting nearly 17,000 flags in total, of which 5,238 were accepted.
Now, the five champions will move on to SAS CTF, the offline competition, that will take place as part of Kaspersky’s Security Analyst Summit (SAS) in Bali on October 20-23. There, the winning teams will face a new set of challenges in Attack-Defense format and compete for the main prize of $18,000, alongside the SAS CTF qualifiers’ eight winners.
“Practical, hands-on expertise has become one of the most critical differentiators in modern cybersecurity. Kaspersky{CTF} offers participants apply their skills in realistic scenarios that mirror the challenges faced by professionals across the industry. Even with the rise of AI usage at the competitions, the most critical and complex challenges still rely on the real expertise of participants, require human insight, creativity and deep technical understanding. This year’s contest clearly demonstrated that. We look forward to welcoming the winners at the offline finals at SAS,” comments Leonid Bezvershenko, Senior Security Researcher at Kaspersky GReAT.
Kaspersky’s SAS is one of the most vibrant international cybersecurity conferences, marking its 18th edition this year. The annual event convenes leading researchers, analysts, and industry professionals to share insights on the latest developments in cyberthreat intelligence. SAS continues to serve as a platform for advancing knowledge on sophisticated cyberattacks, cutting-edge research, and emerging technologies, making it a fitting stage for the CTF finals.
About GReAT
Established in 2008, Global Research & Analysis Team (GReAT) operates at the very heart of Kaspersky, uncovering APTs, cyber-espionage campaigns, major malware, ransomware and underground cyber-criminal trends across the world. Today GReAT consists of 30+ experts working globally – in Europe, Russia, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. Talented security professionals provide company leadership in anti-malware research and innovation, bringing unrivaled expertise, passion and curiosity to the discovery and analysis of cyberthreats.
