Cybersecurity Competitions for High School Students
EC Finder currently lists 16 cybersecurity competitions for high school students. Of these, 12 are free to participate in and 14 offer virtual participation. Examples include ångstromCTF, Bay Area Cyber League Competitions, and Hivestorm.
- 16
- listed
- 12
- free
- 14
- virtual
- 16
- with a listed deadline
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are cybersecurity competitions for high school students?
- Cybersecurity Competitions for High School Students are curated extracurricular listings for high school students interested in cybersecurity. Each listing includes eligibility, cost, and deadline details where known, so you can compare options and find the right fit for your college application profile.
- Are any of these competitions free?
- Yes — 12 of the 16 competitions listed here are free to participate in.
- Can I participate virtually?
- Yes — 14 of the 16 competitions listed here offer virtual or online participation.
- Are cybersecurity competitions good for a college application?
- Yes — cybersecurity competitions are a common way for high schoolers to show sustained interest and initiative in cybersecurity on college applications.
Related Categories
16 activities found·Browse by category
ångstromCTF
A capture-the-flag competition organized entirely by students at Montgomery Blair High School focusing on system/network administration, programming, and reverse engineering. Beginner-to-intermediate friendly and online.
Bay Area Cyber League Competitions
Year-round regional competitions for high school and community college students in the greater Bay Area. Includes fall and spring competitions with Discord community support.
Hivestorm
A cyber-defense competition where teams of 2-4 secure virtual machines, remove malware and threats, and harden systems to score points, emphasizing practical security and system-administration skills.
HSCTF (High School Capture the Flag)
An international online hacking competition designed for high schoolers where teams of up to 5 crack codes, reverse engineer, design algorithms, and solve web/crypto challenges. Student-organized and beginner-accessible.
MetaCTF CyberGames
An annual jeopardy-style capture-the-flag hosted by MetaCTF with challenges across binary exploitation, cryptography, web exploitation, forensics, and reverse engineering, open to all skill levels including high schoolers.
MITRE Embedded Capture the Flag (eCTF)
A free, semester-long national cybersecurity competition open to U.S. high school and college students 13 and older, in which teams design and defend a secure embedded system before attacking other teams' designs; MITRE provides free development hardware.
National Cyber Cup by CYBER.ORG
A free, jeopardy-style capture-the-flag competition from CYBER.ORG exploring reverse engineering, decryption, programming, and networking, with a dedicated high school division.
National Cyber League (NCL) High School Division
Biannual competition with real-world challenges: forensic analysis, packet capture analysis, password cracking, and ransomware recovery. Performance-based scouting reports provided.
National Cyber Scholarship Competition (NCSF)
A timed CTF-style competition reached via CyberStart that awards hundreds of college scholarships plus SANS course/GIAC certification vouchers to top-scoring high schoolers.
National Cyber Summit - Cyber Cup Challenge
A capture-the-flag challenge held alongside the National Cyber Summit in Huntsville, Alabama, giving students a chance to compete on real cybersecurity problems at a major industry conference.
NorCalCyber Mayors Cup
Regional competition for students in Greater Sacramento and Far North California. Features team-based learning and digital forensics challenges.
picoCTF by Carnegie Mellon University
The largest free cybersecurity hacking competition globally. Solve capture-the-flag challenges in web exploitation, cryptography, forensics, and reverse engineering.
Space Grand Challenge (California Cybersecurity Institute)
Gamified satellite cybersecurity competition designed by Cal Poly for middle and high schoolers. Features space-themed challenges in a Unity WebGL platform.
University of Alabama CTF (UACTF)
A free, hybrid Jeopardy-style capture-the-flag competition hosted by the University of Alabama, open to middle and high school teams competing on campus or virtually across novice-to-advanced divisions.
US Cyber Challenge Cyber Quests
Online qualifier for virtual Cyber Camps. Challenges include forensic analysis, packet capture analysis, and vulnerability assessment. Pathway to summer camps and scholarships.
WUST Cybersecurity CTF
An annual ethical-hacking capture-the-flag competition hosted by the SOC Lab at Washington University of Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA, open to teams of high school, college, and university students, with a free mandatory training workshop beforehand.
ECFinder provides links to outside extracurricular opportunities for informational purposes only. Students and families should research each program before applying. ECFinder does not operate or control the listed organizations and is not responsible for their actions or policies.