It’s Google CTF time! Install your tools, commit your scripts, and clear your schedule. The competition kicks off on June 21 2024 6:00 PM UTC and runs through June 23 2024 6:00 PM UTC. Registration is now open at goo.gle/ctf.

Join the Google CTF (at goo.gle/ctf), a thrilling arena to showcase your technical prowess. The Google CTF consists of a set of computer security puzzles (or challenges) involving reverse-engineering, memory corruption, cryptography, web technologies, and more. Participants can use obscure security knowledge to find exploits through bugs and creative misuse, and with each completed challenge your team will earn points and move up through the ranks. 

The top 8 teams of the Google CTF will qualify for our Hackceler8 competition taking place in Málaga, Spain later this year as a part of our larger Escal8 event. Hackceler8 is our experimental esport-style hacking game competition, custom-made to mix CTF and speedrunning. 

Screenshot from last year’s Hackceler8 game

In the competition, teams need to find clever ways to abuse the game features to capture flags as quickly as possible.

Last year, teams assumed the role of Bartholomew (Mew for short), the fuzzy and adorable protagonist of Hackceler8 2023, set to defeat and overcome the evil rA.Ibbit taking over Silicon Valley! What adventures will Mew encounter this year? See the 2023 grand final to get a sense of the story and gameplay. The prize pool for this year’s Google CTF and Hackceler8 stands at more than $32,000.

Itching to get started early? Want to learn more, or get a leg up on the competition? Review challenges from previous years, including previous Hackceler8 matches, all open-sourced here. Or gain inspiration by binge watching hours of Hackceler8 2023 videos!

If you are just starting out in this space, check out our documentary H4CK1NG GOOGLE, it’s a great way to get acquainted with security. We also recommend checking out this year’s Beginner’s Quest that’ll be launching later this summer which will teach you some of the tools and tricks with simpler gamified challenges. For example, last year we explored hacking through time – you can use this to prepare for what’s yet to come.

Whether you’re a seasoned CTF player or just curious about cybersecurity and ethical hacking, we want to invite you to join us. Sign up for the Google CTF to expand your skill set, meet new friends in the security community, and even watch the pros in action. For the latest announcements, see goo.gle/ctf, subscribe to our mailing list, or follow us on Twitter @GoogleVRP. Interested in bug hunting for Google? Check out bughunters.google.com. See you there!