Summary
While most cybersecurity competitions focus on general skills, some specific events and scenarios are tailored to the challenges of particular market sectors, especially those involving critical infrastructure, industrial control systems (ICS), and operational technology (OT).
For professionals and students looking for opportunities, general platforms like the National Cyber League (NCL) and Global Cyberlympics offer practical, real-world challenges (e.g., incident response, penetration testing) that can be applied to any industry.
OnAir Post: Competitions for Market Sectors
About
Government and military
- President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition: Hosted by CISA, this competition recognizes and rewards federal employees by challenging them with real-world scenarios to test and expand their cyber skills.
- NSA Cyber Exercise (NCX): This is a large-scale, three-day competition where teams from military academies and other institutions collaborate to perform a range of cyber operations. The event emphasizes the importance of partnerships between government, academia, and industry.
- CyberForce Competition: An annual event hosted by the Department of Energy, this competition focuses on cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, with scenarios involving power grids and other energy systems. It aims to increase awareness and develop skills related to protecting vital energy infrastructure.
- Hack-a-Sat: A competition sponsored by the U.S. Space Force, this is a challenge for participants to exploit a live orbital satellite. The competition is designed to develop the skills needed for space-based cybersecurity.
- Cyber Grand Challenge: Sponsored by DARPA, this competition was created to develop an all-automated cyber defense system that can automatically discover vulnerabilities, create patches, and deploy them in real-time against its opponent.
Source: 11/8/2025
Energy & Critical Infrastructure
- CyberForce Competition: Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), this competition is specifically designed for college students and professionals to address the unique cybersecurity challenges of the energy sector and critical infrastructure. Participants work to protect and defend an industrial control system (ICS) and its associated corporate network in a real-world scenario.
- Hack the Port: This event has included scenarios focused on critical infrastructure, such as simulated attacks on maritime facilities, providing hands-on experience with sector-specific operational technology (OT).
Finance and General Business
- Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC): While not exclusive to one sector, the CCDC system requires student teams to assume administrative and protective duties for an existing “commercial” network, simulating the environment of a typical small business with common internet services (e-commerce, mail servers, etc.). This focuses on a general business infrastructure rather than a specific industrial system.
Automotive
The automotive sector is a growing area for cybersecurity focus, with an increase in connectivity and regulatory demands. While dedicated annual competitions may be emerging, current focus is primarily on industry-led initiatives, research, and general security testing (e.g., at conferences like DEF CON).
Healthcare
- The healthcare sector is rapidly adopting connected devices and cloud-based solutions, creating new security challenges. The primary focus here is on regulatory compliance (e.g., HIPAA) and securing electronic health records (EHRs), with general cybersecurity competitions potentially including healthcare-related scenarios.
Specialized Competitions
- Trace Labs Search Party CTF: Focuses on Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) to find flags/information in a public environment.
- MITRE eCTF: A competition focused on embedded systems security, challenging participants to secure a system and then find vulnerabilities in others’ designs.
- Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge: Focuses on policy and strategy aspects of cybersecurity and incident response, rather than purely technical skills
