The number 256 (2⁸) holds special significance in the world of programming, as it represents the number of distinct values that can be represented by a byte. For this reason, Programmers’ Day is celebrated annually on the 256th day of the year. In celebration of Programmers’ Day, ICT Group JSC, in collaboration with VKNC LLC, organized the DEV2SEC CTF 2026 competition on September 11, 2026.

The competition aimed to foster a culture of secure development across the Group, strengthen developers’ cybersecurity knowledge and practical skills, and promote a mindset in which security is an integral part of everyday software development.

Building on the first DEV2SEC CTF event held in April 2026, this year’s competition brought together 45 developers from 16 teams representing 10 companies. Participants put their knowledge, technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and teamwork to the test through practical cybersecurity challenges.

The four-hour competition featured two main challenge categories: Jeopardy CTF and Secure Coding Challenge.

In the Jeopardy CTF, participants analyzed web systems, identified security vulnerabilities, and earned points by capturing flags. In the Secure Coding Challenge, participants analyzed a system and its source code, identified vulnerabilities, and demonstrated their ability to remediate them correctly.

These challenges gave participants the opportunity not only to identify security issues, but also to understand their root causes and potential impacts and apply appropriate remediation practices at the development level.

DEV2SEC CTF 2026 Winners 

After four hours of competition, the final results were:

🥇 1st Place — Team zoozpwned, Asterisk Technologies LLC
🥈 2nd Place — Team 0x2, ICT Group JSC
🥉 3rd Place — Team h2o, eClinic LLC

The value of DEV2SEC CTF goes beyond recognizing the top-performing teams. The competition provides developers with an opportunity to strengthen their cybersecurity knowledge and skills through practical challenges and hands-on experience, learn from one another, share knowledge and experience, and ultimately integrate secure development best practices into their everyday work.

Going forward, DEV2SEC CTF is planned to become an annual event, recognizing the top-performing team each year and establishing a tradition of passing the DEV2SEC CTF Champion’s Trophy among ICT Group companies.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all the developers who participated in DEV2SEC CTF 2026 and put their knowledge and skills to the test, to the VKNC LLC team for co-organizing the competition, and to everyone who contributed to the successful organization of the event.