National CTF 2025 — Results, Highlights & Winners

The first-ever National CTF 2025, organized by HackenProof in partnership with the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), has officially wrapped — and what an incredible event it turned out to be! Over the course of nearly two weeks, participants from around the world put their skills to the test across challenges of varying difficulty, from beginner-friendly puzzles to advanced exploitation scenarios.

Over nearly two weeks of challenges, participants from around the world demonstrated impressive skill, determination, and creativity. In total, the competition brought together 2000 participants from more than 73 countries, placing it among the most dynamic and widely attended cybersecurity events of the year.

One of the most inspiring aspects of the National CTF 2025 was the incredible academic community it brought together. The scale and diversity of participants showed just how many bright young specialists are ready to take on complex cybersecurity challenges — and how strong the next generation of talent truly is.

Students joined from across a wide spectrum of educational institutions, including:

• 15 Ukrainian universities;
• 5 foreign educational institutions;
• And even 1 secondary school and 5 colleges, whose students showed exceptional enthusiasm and determination.

As soon as the CTF started, participants quickly began exploring the environment and attempting to secure the first flag. It took approximately 2 minutes before the initial breakthrough happened, marking the official start of the competition’s momentum.

Top Submitters

This year, participants solved tasks related to cryptography, OSINT, reverse engineering, web exploitation, forensics, and smart contract security.

The final ranking included participants who demonstrated the highest level of technical training and endurance.

🥇1st Place — p3wp3w
🥈2nd Place — ROOT
🥉3rd Place — MilSec

Here you can check our TOP-100 winners as well:

A special moment of the event was the official video message from Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, congratulating the participants and winners of the National CTF 2025.

Bonus Category: “League of Legends”

For participants who completed all tasks of the main National CTF 2025, a special Bonus Category “League of Legends” was introduced. It featured 5 brand-new challenges, designed to push the skills of the most dedicated participants even further.

🏆 Congratulations to the winners of the “League of Legends” track — dcua Team!

You demonstrated outstanding skill, determination, and creativity in tackling the most advanced challenges. Fantastic work pushing the limits and mastering this bonus round!

In the addition to recognition, participants in the “League of Legends” will also receive unique prizes prepared specifically for this category.

We did an amazing job!

We would like to extend a huge thank-you to everyone who took part in this year’s CTF. Your creativity, persistence, and curiosity made the event truly exceptional. The organizers will be reaching out to the winners in the coming weeks to arrange delivery of all prizes — including exclusive trophies and special rewards prepared together with our partners.

• Top 3: Winner’s trophy, exclusive merch boxes, souvenirs, and special distinctions
• Top 30: Achievement badge on the HackenProof platform, memorable gifts from the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine and partners
• Top 100: National CTF 2025 participation certificates signed by the Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine

Once again, thank you for being part of this event. We’ve enjoyed seeing your strategies, solutions, and competitive spirit throughout the challenge. More puzzles and new experiences are already in the works — and we’ll keep you updated on what comes next.

New challenges and new victories ahead

National CTF 2025 will be remembered not only for its top rankings and awards. Most importantly, it has formed a community of specialists who are ready to support each other and work to develop cybersecurity in Ukraine.

Ukrainian organizers raise the bar every year, and the interest of the global community proves that such initiatives are needed by both Ukraine and its international partners.