The MIA-CTF-2026 will be held online on April 11. This cybersecurity competition among student teams representing the educational institutions of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs was organized by St. Petersburg University of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Association of Cybersecurity Service Managers (ACSM).
On April 12, a regional cybersecurity tournament will be held online among the students of educational institutions in the Novosibirsk Region. The NSKCTF-2026 was organized by the Siberian State University of Telecommunication and Computer Science that offers study programs for cybersecurity professionals.
The Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ has sponsored the CTF competitions held by ACSM for multiple years. The center is also a partner of CTF Summer Schools for students in grades 9 to 11, CTF team members, and new members of the CTF movement, as well as information security students.
CTF competitions in Russia have been held according to the Capture the Flag rules for 20 years. The gamified competition allows participants to showcase their skills and knowledge of information security and computer science.
Competition objectives include:
- improving participants’ theoretical knowledge and practical skills;
- developing a systemic and comprehensive understanding of cybersecurity challenges;
- raising participants’ awareness of the nature of cyber threats and providing practical experience in implementing security measures;
- guiding participants towards pursuing IT and cybersecurity education.
Competitors solve tasks of various levels of complexity related to encryption, forensics, open-source intelligence (OSINT), software reverse engineering, and exploiting software and website vulnerabilities.
The competitions help school and university students to expand their skills and knowledge and learn more about programming and design in cybersecurity. They encourage further professional development, promote modern mathematical concepts and information security tools and discovering young talents in this area.
