Hosts
LA CTF is an annual cybersecurity competition hosted by ACM Cyber at UCLA.
Events
There will be a variety of events ranging from competitive cybersecurity challenges to more relaxed events like typing competitions.
Speakers
Throughout the event, a variety of UCLA professors and cybersecurity experts will be giving talks. Check them out below!
Levels
LA CTF will have two divisions, UCLA and Open. No matter your skill level, there will be challenges right for you!
Speakers
During the competition, we will be having some speakers give live-streamed talks. Stay tuned for more information!
Raphael Ruban
Software Engineer, Verkada
Raphael Ruban graduated from Stanford in 2024 with a BS and MS in Computer Science. He will be speaking on agentic AI and threat detection: Developing threat detections is slow, repetitive work. Learn how we cut threat detection development and maintenance time by over 80%. We'll explore our 'detection duet': a custom agentic workflow for writing new rules from unstructured ideas, and a general-purpose agent for code maintenance.
Prizes
LA CTF will have prizes for both the UCLA and Open sections! While there will be two sections for prizes, all of the challenges will be the same for both sections.
UCLA Section
The UCLA Section is composed of teams consisting of only current UCLA undergraduate students. Teams must have a maximum of four students in order to be eligible for prizes.
- 1st place: $240 +
1x OffSec Course and Cert Bundle +
3x Amber Pro Smart Storage Device +
1x Binary Ninja license +
1x $50 Spearphish Store gift card - 2nd place: $200 +
1x Binary Ninja license +
1x $50 Spearphish Store gift card - 3rd place: $160 +
1x $50 Spearphish Store gift card - 4th & 5th place: $80 +
1x $50 Spearphish Store gift card - 6th-10th place: $40
UCLA division prizes will be distributed directly to individual team members in the form of US amazon.com gift cards. Amounts listed are per team.
Open Section
The Open Section is composed of teams with no size limit and any place of origin. Every non-UCLA team is eligible for Open Section prizes. All experience levels are welcome!
- 1st place: $500 +
3× IDA Pro Expert 2 license +
1× Binary Ninja license - 2nd place: $300 +
1× IDA Pro Expert 2 license +
1× Binary Ninja license - 3rd place: $200 +
1× IDA Pro Expert 2 license +
1× Binary Ninja license - 4th & 5th place: $100
Open division prizes will be distributed to the email linked to the given winning teams in the form of US amazon.com gift cards. Amounts listed are per team.
Additionally, 1x Binary Ninja license will be awarded for the best Binary Ninja writeup (either division).
Prizes are subject to change and may be made conditional on proof of challenge completion (writeups).
Writeup Prizes:
- A pool of $500 worth of prize money will be given out via writeup prizes, of which $100 is reserved for UCLA students.
- Writeup prizes are made out to the individual or group that made and submitted a winning writeup.
- Writeup judgement will be done by the LA CTF Organizers collectively. Decisions made by the organizers are final.
- The writeup submission form will be active for 1 week after the CTF is over, and will be posted in our discord.
Sponsors
LA CTF would not be possible without our amazing sponsors! Want your company to be a sponsor? Reach out to uclacyber@gmail.com!
Protect people and places in a privacy-sensitive way. Trusted by over 33,000 organizations, Verkada builds physical security solutions that integrate seamlessly behind a single, cloud-based software platform.
OtterSec is the leading blockchain security audit team, working closely with various Layer 1s and the protocols built on them.
Zellic is a security research firm. We hire talented hackers to break critical software, ranging from virtual machines to compilers and major web apps to proof systems. Before Zellic, we founded perfect blue, the #1 CTF team in 2020 and 2021. We offer a comprehensive benefits package and direct equity participation, as well as flexible hours, remote work, and both full-time and part-time roles. To learn more about Zellic, check out our blog: zellic.io/auditooor-grindset. Work at Zellic: jobs@zellic.io | @gf_256
Trail of Bits helps secure the world's most targeted organizations and products. We combine high-end security research with a real-world attacker mentality to reduce risk and fortify code.
Store your data locally and access it from anywhere without subscription fees!
Meet your business challenges head on with cloud computing services from Google, including data management, hybrid & multi-cloud, and AI & ML.
OffSec is a global leader in cybersecurity education, built on a commitment to excellence, integrity, and growth. The OffSec User Generated Content Program is a space built for creators like you. Turn your ideas into real labs that thousands of learners worldwide will use to practice and grow their skills.
Binary Ninja is an interactive decompiler, disassembler, debugger, and binary analysis platform built by reverse engineers, for reverse engineers. Developed with a focus on delivering a high-quality API for automation and a clean and usable GUI, Binary Ninja is in active use by malware analysts, vulnerability researchers, and software developers worldwide.
At Black Hills Information Security (BHIS), we strive to strengthen our customers’ information security infrastructure and employees through penetration testing, consulting, and defensive security services. Since our founding in 2008, companies of all sizes, from small community banks to Fortune 100 companies, have entrusted us with their business.
LA CTF Mini
This year, we're excited to continue LA CTF Mini, a special program inviting high school students from the LA area to participate in LA CTF 2026! You'll enjoy all the perks of LA CTF, including:
Food
Swag
Hang out with other CTF-ers!
Archive
Check out our past competition challenges and results!
