Vancouver Cybersecurity Students Hack Their Way to Third Place at CyberSci 2025 CTF Competition
Nine graduate students achieved a significant milestone at CyberSci 2025, earning third place in the Vancouver region and 25th overall out of 86 teams across Canada鈥攖he university鈥檚 strongest performance to date in the national cybersecurity competition.
This year鈥檚 CyberSci event embraced a dramatic, post-apocalyptic narrative: A meteor detonates in Earth鈥檚 atmosphere, triggering an electromagnetic pulse that destroys all modern electronics. Humanity must rebuild using technology from the 1990s and early 2000s. Competitors were challenged to restore digital capabilities through legacy cryptography, outdated communication protocols, retro-style forensics, and early-era hardware puzzles. The theme pushed students to think creatively and reverse-engineer technology long considered obsolete.
Two 黑料导航-Vancouver teams, NightOwls and Exp-Acquired, rose to the occasion. Under the mentorship of Sara Khanchi, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science and coach of the capture the flag (CTF) teams, along with leadership from Cybersecurity Club President Sam Affambi and team Captain Parthsinh Arunsinh Jadeja, students spent two months rigorously preparing on campus, in addition to their personal practice. Weekly Monday training sessions focused on Hack the Box, PicoCTF, and targeted problem-solving exercises designed to simulate real CTF pressure. Additionally, Jadeja prepared different Jeopardy-style challenges for each training session to give students exposure to a variety of question types.
Their preparation paid off as the NightOwls鈥擩adeja, Maiqi Li, Camilo Gallego Ortiz, and Xin Huang鈥攕ecured a top-three regional placement and earned gift cards. Li led 黑料导航鈥檚 scoreboard with the highest number of solved challenges, describing the experience as 鈥渇un, challenging, and incredibly rewarding.鈥� She ranked among the top scorers in Canada, serving as an outstanding example of female representation in cybersecurity.
Students also secured job interviews with industry sponsors and explored career paths in cybersecurity. The experience was thrilling鈥攜ou get a real rush every time you capture a flag,鈥� says Jayson Ng, who was on the Exp-Acquired team. Many teammates echoed this sentiment, noting that the fast-paced problem-solving, immersive storyline, and hands-on challenges made this one of the most engaging learning experiences of their academic journey.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud of these students and the effort they put into this competition. Their dedication and creativity were unmatched, and I鈥檝e been vigilant in supporting their progress every step of the way,鈥� says Khanchi. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not just competing鈥攚e鈥檙e building a thriving community of innovators and problem-solvers.鈥�
The CyberSci cybersecurity competition offers students real-world exposure to digital forensics, reverse engineering, system security, and technical problem-solving.
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