Garden State Cyber CTF

Eligibility & Competition Rules

Participation in the Garden State Cyber Capture-the-Flag (GSCTF) competition is governed by the eligibility requirements and rules outlined below. These guidelines ensure a fair, educational, and professionally-conducted event for all schools and competitors.

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1. Eligibility Requirements

To participate in the Garden State Cyber CTF, students must meet the following criteria:

• Be currently enrolled in grades 9–12
• Attend a New Jersey high school (public, private, or vocational) OR be registered as a New Jersey homeschooled student
• Participate under the supervision of a registered teacher/advisor

Eligibility is verified through school registration submitted by the teacher/advisor.

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2. Team Structure

• Students compete in teams of 1–4 students
• Teams are formed and submitted by the registering teacher/advisor
• Team composition must be finalized at the time of registration

Once the competition begins, no changes may be made to team membership.

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3. Registration Process

• Teachers/advisors must complete the official registration forms

• Registration includes:

  • Student names
  • School name
  • Team assignments

Teachers are responsible for the accuracy of submitted information and team placement.

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4. Competition Accounts & Privacy

To protect student privacy:

• GSCTF provides teachers with anonymized login credentials
• Usernames are system-generated and do not contain student names
• Students log in using only the credentials issued to their team

No student personal information exists within the CTF competition platform (CTFd.io).

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5. Competition Advancement

• Teams earn points through challenge completion
• The Top 10 scoring teams (max one pre school) advance to the in-person Finals event at the Garden State Cyber Summit

Advancement rules:

• Maximum of one advancing team per school
• If multiple teams from the same school place in the Top 10, only the highest-scoring team will advance
• Additional teams will be selected based on the next highest scores statewide

Code of Conduct

Garden State Cyber is committed to providing a safe, respectful, and academically focused competition environment. All participants are expected to uphold the following standards.

• Collaboration and teamwork within their assigned team
• Healthy, respectful competition with other schools
• Integrity in solving challenges
• Professional communication with organizers

NOTE on use of Artifical Intelligence: AI tools are encouraged as a learning resource and CTF tool. They can help explain concepts, suggest approaches, or assist with tool syntax. However, participants should be aware that some GSCTF challenges are intentionally designed to be AI-resistant. These challenges may include misleading context, incomplete data, or elements meant to produce incorrect AI conclusions. Hands-on investigation and validation are essential.

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Unacceptable Participant Behavior

The behaviors below are prohibited and may result in disqualification.

1. Cheating & Unauthorized Collaboration

Prohibited actions include:

• Collaborating with participants outside your assigned team
• Sharing flags, answers, or solutions
• Using another team’s credentials
• Receiving outside assistance during the competition

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2. Platform Misuse

• GSCTF provides a Question/Feedback challenge for reporting issues related to CTF questions.
• Do not report violations here (see below)
• Do not spam this feature
• Off-topic, repetitive, or disruptive messages are not permitted

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3. Inappropriate Online Conduct

GSCTF does not host public discussion forums. However, students often use external platforms (such as Discord) independently.

We strongly advise participants:

• Do not use or post racist, degrading, explicit, adult, or controversial:

  • Usernames
  • Nicknames
  • Profile pictures
  • Status messages
  • Chat content

If you have to question whether something is appropriate, it likely is not.

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5. Malicious Activity

The following are strictly forbidden:

• Distributing malicious files to participants, admins, or hosts
• Attempting to harm systems or data
• Introducing malware, backdoors, or exploits

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6. Attacks Against Competition Infrastructure

Participants may only target systems explicitly designated as challenges.

Illegal or unauthorized actions include:

• Attacking GSCTF platforms or websites
• Exploiting infrastructure vulnerabilities
• Attempting to disrupt competition operations
• Unauthorized scanning or intrusion attempts

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7. Reporting Violations

If you witness or experience Code of Conduct violations, please report them to your teacher/advisor.
ONLY teachers may report violations to GSCTF. These reports may be submitted to the Garden State Cyber email address used to distribute credentials.

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8. Enforcement

Failure to comply with the Garden State Cyber CTF Eligibility Rules or Code of Conduct may result in:

• Team disqualification
• Removal from the competition platform
• Ineligibility for Finals advancement
• Removal from future Garden State Cyber events

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Garden State Cyber reserves the right to make eligibility determinations and disciplinary decisions in the best interest of competition integrity and student safety.