📌About the Event

NULLGRIDS Live Cyber Warfare CTF 2026, also promoted as Operation Black Cipher / BLACK CIPHER 2026, is a national-level student-led cybersecurity championship focused on real-world cyber warfare simulation. Unlike a regular CTF, the event combines AI-augmented challenges, attack-defense simulations, forensics, OSINT, web security, cryptography, and reverse engineering to test participants’ offensive and defensive cybersecurity skills under pressure. The official event page describes it as India’s student-led AI-augmented cyber operations championship.

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ℹ️ Event Details

• Event type: Cybersecurity CTF / cyber warfare championship
• Mode of conduct: Offline / on-site
• Venue: United Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
• Format: Two-day cyber operations championship
• Core focus areas:
  • OSINT
  • Web security
  • Cryptography
  • DFIR / digital forensics
  • Reverse engineering
  • Attack-defense cyber range
• Day 1: Operational Recon Phase with AI-augmented cybersecurity challenges
• Day 2: Cyber Warfare Simulation with live vulnerable services, flags, and attack-defense gameplay
• AI tools: Modern AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc. are allowed and encouraged, according to the official event page.

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📅 Important Dates

• Registration status: Registrations are open
• Event dates: 20–21 July 2026
• Duration: 2 days

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🎯 Eligibility & Rules

• Eligibility:
  • Suitable for students, cybersecurity learners, ethical hacking enthusiasts, and technical teams.
  • Event listings mention relevance for students from CSE, AI/DS, IT, MCA, and Design-related departments.
• Team size:
  • 1 to 4 members per team
  • Maximum 4 members allowed per team
• Competition structure:
  • Day 1: Participants solve around 30 AI-augmented cyber operation challenges.
• Challenge areas: OSINT, Web, Crypto, DFIR, and Reverse Engineering.
• Qualification: Top 15 teams move to Day 2

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🏆 Benefits for the Participants

• Prize pool: ₹40,000
• Certificates: Certificates will be provided to participants, as per event listing details.