Overview Seize da Flaq is a national-level Capture The Flag (CTF) cybersecurity competition designed to challenge participants with realistic, hands-on problems across multiple domains of cybersecurity. From web exploitation and cryptography to digital forensics, OSINT, reverse engineering, and other security challenges, participants will need to think like real-world security professionals to uncover vulnerabilities, exploit weaknesses, investigate evidence, and capture flags. The competition follows a two-stage format, giving participants an opportunity to prove their skills before entering the final battlefield. Stage 1 — Prescreening Round 16 October 2026 4:00 PM – 12:00 AM 8 Hours | Online The prescreening round will test participants across a diverse range of cybersecurity challenges. Teams will compete on the live platform, and the top-performing teams will qualify for the Grand Finale. Stage 2.1 — Workshops 21 November, 2026 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM 7 Hours | On-site Stage 2.2 — CTF Final Round 21-22 November, 2026 7:00 PM, 21 November, 2026 – 4:00 PM, 22 November 2026 21 Hours | On-site Qualified teams will enter the Grand Finale, an intense on-site CTF where they will face advanced and carefully crafted cybersecurity challenges. The Grand Finale is designed to test not only how quickly participants can capture flags, but also their ability to understand, reproduce, document, and demonstrate their techniques. Winner Validation The final leaderboard will not be the sole basis for determining the winners. After the competition, the Top 10 teams will be required to submit their write-ups, technical presentations, and Proof of Concept (PoC) demonstrating how they solved the challenges. The organizing team will evaluate: Technical understanding of the challenges Methodology and approach Quality and correctness of the PoC Technical presentation and ability to explain Authenticity of the submitted write-ups The final winners will be announced after the completion of the technical evaluation and validation process. Competition Guidelines The competition will run continuously for the specified duration. Sharing flags, solutions, write-ups, PoCs, or accounts is strictly prohibited. Any form of cheating, unauthorized collaboration, or exploitation of vulnerabilities in the CTF infrastructure/platform will result in immediate disqualification. Automated tools are permitted only where they are relevant to solving the intended challenges; abuse of automation against the competition infrastructure is prohibited. Participants must not attempt to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to the CTF platform or infrastructure. Final results are subject to flag validation, technical review, and anti-cheat verification. During the Grand Finale, participants are not permitted to leave the event venue after the competition begins, except in the case of a genuine emergency. In such cases, only the affected participant(s) may leave after approval and verification by the organizing team. Unauthorized departure from the venue may result in disciplinary action or disqualification of the team. The battlefield is live. The flags are waiting. Are You Ready to Seize the Flaq? Think. Exploit. Investigate. Defend. Capture.
Venue
GLA University
Mathura, India