CIDECODE Hackathon - 2026
PES University
📌 About the Event
CIDECODE 2026 (CIDECODE 2K26) is the high-octane 3rd Edition of the premier Tech Hackathon organized by the Centre for Cybercrime Investigation Training & Research (CCITR) a joint initiative of the CID Karnataka Police, Infosys Foundation, and the Data Security Council of India (DSCI).
Hosted in association with PES University, Bengaluru, this elite 24-hour physical coding marathon challenges student innovators to engineer highly sophisticated defensive software and digital forensics tools. Every project addresses real-world bottlenecks directly faced by state law enforcement agencies in combating complex cybercrime networks.
📅 Critical Operational Timeline
- Registration Active Window: April 30, 2026 – May 25, 2026
- Hard Registration Deadline: May 25, 2026
- Shortlisting Announcement: June 1, 2026
- Guided Mentoring Phase: June 5 – June 25, 2026
- The Live Hackathon Event: July 4 – July 5, 2026
- Status: ACTIVE & URGENT. Initial proposal ingestion tunnels close imminently.
🏢 Physical Venue Infrastructure
- Host Campus Location: PES University, 100 Feet Ring Road, BSK III Stage, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
🚀 Law Enforcement Problem Statements
The judging panel expects functional logic architectures built exclusively around three sensitive national security problem statements:
- 📑 1. Automated Bank Statement Analysis System
- The Friction: Investigations involve thousands of fragmented, multi-format financial rows (PDFs, CSVs, scans), exhausting police man-hours.
- The Goal: Build a parse engine that ingests, cleanses, and standardizes multi-source financial logs. The system must autonomously trace suspicious multi-layer fund flows, flag dynamic layering networks, and generate court-admissible, evidence-ready audit reports.
- 📱 2. APK Threat Analysis Platform with C2 Detection
- The Friction: Exponential spikes in Android APK frauds rely on deep obfuscation, keeping malicious endpoints hidden until runtime execution.
- The Goal: Architect an APK analysis sandbox running automated static and controlled dynamic instrumentation. The core focus is tracing, identifying, and logging Command and Control (C2) server infrastructures, extracting hidden payload domains, and preserving mobile forensic artifacts.
- 🌐 3. Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT)-Based Suspect Profiling System
- The Friction: Threat actors scatter their digital footprints across distinct aliases, alternative handles, hidden emails, and recycled metadata.
- The Goal: Design a lawful, intelligence-grade Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) correlations engine. It must scan, map, and links multiple disparate public profiles to create a single, unified suspect identity schema.
📋 Eligibility Protocols & Team Metrics
- Academic Criteria: Open to all active Post Graduate Students (any semester) and Undergraduate Students (currently in their 3rd Semester or higher).
- Team Boundaries: Strictly restricted to a tight configuration of 3 or 4 members per team.
- The Selection Funnel: Teams must first submit a comprehensive written synopsis of their structural approach. Only top tier filtered concepts will win a physical boarding pass to the 24-hour sprint in Bengaluru.
🏆 The Financial Reward & Internship Matrix
The competitive matrix features an extensive capital pool alongside professional tier accelerations, distributed across the categories:
- 💰 Grand Cash Reserve: ₹5,00,000 Total Prize Pool
- 💼 Industry Fast-Tracks: Exceptional candidates are channeled directly into specialized Cyber Forensics Internship Opportunities backed by institutional partners.
- 🛡️ Strategic Mentorship: Shortlisted teams spend nearly a month receiving direct 1-on-1 architecture feedback from senior law enforcement experts, state cyber cell heads, and corporate security architects.