The annual Codebreaker Challenge developed by the National Security Agency is back. The 2021 Codebreaker Challenge consists of a series of tasks that are worth varying points based on the tasks level of difficulty. Schools will be ranked according to the total number of points accumulated by students. You may submit solutions at any time from August 2 to December 31. Good luck and enjoy!

2021 Challenge Scenario:

NSA has found a foreign actor's command-and-control server. Several defense industrial base (DIB) company networks are communicating with it. 

Your mission is to:

  1. Identify how the actor gained access to the company network
  2. Analyze the actor's tools and comms protocols
  3. Interact with the actor's server to recover additional information about their infrastructure

Who: US-based academic institutions

What: Annual NSA-themed challenge event

Where:

When: August 2–December 31, 2021

Download the flyer. 

For more information regarding NSA careers and events, please visit the .