Active CTFs and HTB activity

Capture the Flag events and Hack The Box labs are filling the spring cybersecurity calendar, with new practice ranges, a free INE prep exercise, and two May competitions now taking registrations. (hackthebox.com) A Capture the Flag contest is a timed hacking exercise where players solve security problems and collect digital “flags” as proof. Hack The Box says its CTF platform includes web, crypto, reversing, forensics, blockchain, full-pwn machine, and Active Directory lab formats. (hackthebox.com) Hack The Box’s biggest scheduled event in this cycle is the Global Cyber Skills Benchmark 2026, a free corporate-team competition running May 15-20, 2026. The company says teams of 1 to 30 players can enter, registration opened April 7, and the event will award more than $38,000 in prizes. (hackthebox.com) Hack The Box is pitching that event as a way for companies to compare their teams against more than 1,000 corporate squads and measure skills across 12 domains, including cloud security and industrial control systems. Pre-event live hacking workshops are scheduled for May 14, with an after-party on May 21. (hackthebox.com) A separate virtual contest is targeting newer entrants to the field. Women in CyberSecurity, or WiCyS, says applications are open through April 23 for its “Exposure Quest Edition” CTF, co-hosted with Tenable and Amazon Web Services. (wicys.org) WiCyS says the event will run May 12-14, 2026, for college students and early-career professionals who are WiCyS members. The group says it will accept up to 250 applications, select 50 participants, and include challenges in open-source intelligence, cryptography, forensics, cloud security, web exploitation, binary exploits, and AI-driven security. (wicys.org) INE is also feeding that practice pipeline with on-demand offensive security labs. Its cybersecurity course catalog, updated April 21, 2026, lists web application penetration testing modules, an introduction to web application security testing, and identity and access management training that align with common CTF topics such as authentication, session handling, and API abuse. (ine.com) Hack The Box’s event pages and community activity point to the same pattern: more cyber training is being packaged as repeatable, scored lab work instead of one-off workshops. The upcoming-events page advertises a steady registration pipeline, while the CTF platform continues to frame those exercises as hands-on skill building across multiple challenge types. (hackthebox.com) The immediate dates are now close enough to matter. WiCyS closes applications on April 23, its event starts May 12, and Hack The Box’s corporate benchmark opens on May 15. (wicys.org)