The qualifying round of the SAS CTF 2025 competition has determined eight teams of cybersecurity experts from around the world that will test their skills in the finals. This year’s CTF qualifiers brought together over 900 teams from more than 80 countries, with eight winners to compete for a $18,000 prize pool in Khao Lak, Thailand, from October 25 to 28, as part of one of the most vibrant international cybersecurity conferences — Kaspersky’s Security Analyst Summit (SAS).
Kaspersky continuously invests in projects to empower cybersecurity professionals and foster innovation and skill development among researchers and ethical hackers. In 2024, Kaspersky organized its SAS CTF, with its qualifiers drawing 846 teams from around the globe, with only 119 teams managing to solve at least one challenge. By participating in this event, experts from around the globe engaged in real-world cybersecurity challenges, strengthening their ability to detect and mitigate threats.
This year, the online qualifiers, held on May 24-25, challenged participants with a series of Jeopardy-style tasks that tested their ability to find vulnerabilities, solve cryptographic puzzles and suggest solutions for AI-involving tasks. The qualifiers required a diverse skillset from participants, including cryptography, reverse engineering, binary exploitation, as well as knowledge of web security, forensics, steganography and Web3. With the buzz surrounding Al, the topic could not be avoided by the event organizers and inspired one of the tasks, with only three teams solving it successfully. Several tasks, including malware forensics, were inspired by real-life research conducted by Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT).
The top eight teams that advanced to compete in the finals are C4T BuT S4D (Russia), PIG SEKAI (International), SKSD (Indonesia), dtl (Russia), SPRUSH (Russia), Infobahn (International), thehackerscrew (International), and BunkyoWesterns (Japan).
"The CTF competition is more than just a challenge — it’s a platform for cybersecurity professionals to refine their skills, collaborate and push the boundaries of security research. We are proud to support initiatives that strengthen the global cybersecurity community," commented Igor Kuznetsov, Director of Kaspersky’s GReAT.
The Security Analyst Summit (SAS) is one of the most prestigious cybersecurity conferences, bringing together industry leaders, researchers, and law enforcement agencies to discuss the latest trends and threats. In addition to the CTF finals, SAS 2025 will feature cutting-edge research presentations, networking opportunities and collaborative discussions on cybersecurity advancements.
The Call for Papers for SAS 2025, which will be held for the 17th time this year, is currently open and will run until August 1, inviting experts to submit their research for presentation at the event. This is an opportunity for cybersecurity professionals to share their insights and contribute to the global conversation on digital security.
