Capture The Flag
5 Days - Friday to Tuesday
Global
Free
$50,000+
1 - 30 Players
Very Easy to Advanced
Jeopardy, Cloud, FullPwn
About the event
Operation Blackout: Defend Against the Cyber Dark Age
In a world where advanced technology shapes global power dynamics, the stakes have never been higher.
The Empire of Volnaya, a nation with a long history of espionage and authoritarian rule, has launched a covert operation to destabilize critical infrastructure across rival nations. This campaign, known as Operation Blackout, uses advanced persistent threats (APTs) and sophisticated cyber tactics to disrupt power grids, financial systems, and emergency services, aiming to instigate a new era of Cold War tensions.
In response, an elite coalition of the world’s top cyber operatives—Task Force Phoenix—has been assembled to counter this growing threat. As a member of this task force, you’ll deploy cutting-edge cybersecurity tools, dissect intelligence, and dismantle Volnaya’s cyber operations.
Each challenge will test your team’s skills as you unravel the layers of Operation Blackout and neutralize the looming threat of a Cyber Dark Age.
A New Name, Same Elite Experience
The business-focused competition you know and love is back—better than ever—with a new name: Global Cyber Skills Benchmark 2025. This evolution reflects our commitment to delivering an even sharper focus on benchmarking your team’s cybersecurity capabilities against global peers.
WHY JOIN
TL;DR: For the glory, the training, the prizes, and the certification
Top-notch hacking content
Access exclusive content featuring only the latest attacks and real-world hacking techniques.
Gamified upskilling
Forget static experiences. Be part of an interactive storyline and learn while hacking.
Free training
Bring your team together to train and hack at the same time. Simple as that!
Certify your attendance
Reserve your spot, climb the charts, brag to your friends, and get CPEs and certificates.*
Your prizes await
Get the chance to win the Secret HTB Trophy, swag, advanced services, our hearts, and much more.

*We give away 6 CPEs to participants who've provided their (ISC)² IDs, and whose teams have collected at least 15,000 points
Hacking content
More than 40 challenges to take on.
5 Challenges
5 Challenges
5 Challenges
5 Challenges
5 Challenges
5 Challenges
3 Challenges
5 Challenges
5 Challenges
3 Challenges
3 Challenges
5 Challenges
TIMELINE
Mark your calendar
Registration opens
February 25, 2025
Pre-event live hacking workshops
May 22, 2025
CTF starts
May 23, 2025
CTF ends
May 27, 2025
CTF after party
May 28, 2025
SPONSORS
Global Cyber Skills Benchmark 2025 Operation Blackout: A team effort
Be part of the action and make the Global Cyber Skills Benchmark 2025 a hacking event to remember! If you want to join our sponsors and showcase your brand to our global community of 3M+ cybersecurity professionals, click here to get in touch with our team.
MEET THE AWARDS
Outsmart your competitors, bring home your prizes
Hack like pros, climb the leaderboard, and win our hearts plus much more.

1st place
$21,750
-
Secret HTB trophy
-
Access to BlackSky (6 months)
-
$100 HTB swag card (for each player)

2nd place
$16,200
-
CPTS certification (for each player)
-
$50 HTB swag card (for each player)

3rd place
$12,050
-
Access to Dedicated Labs (6 months)
-
$25 HTB swag card (for each player)
TOTAL PRIZE VALUE: $50,000+
FOR A FAIR PLAY
The dos and the don'ts
- Only one team from each company can join the CTF.
- Only business emails are allowed to sign up.
- Players are prohibited from attacking the CTF's backend infrastructure.
- Players are prohibited from attacking other teams.
- Do not brute-force the flag submission form.
- Avoid exchanging flags or write-ups/hints with other teams.
- Respect HTB's Terms of Service.
- Do not attempt to DDoS challenges or make actions that could lead to this result.
- Players must be part of only one Business CTF team.
Got questions? Read our FAQ.
STRAIGHT FROM LAST YEAR
Don't just take our word for it
Here's what teams who have experienced Global Cyber Skills Benchmark CTF first hand say about it:

Global Cybersecurity Enterprise Architect @ Siemens
"Amazing experience working with HTB. Not only is it a very complete and fun hacking learning platform, but also the team is full of talent and creativity and will support your CTF setups in a very professional way. I’m looking forward to continuing this great collaboration."

Security Consultant @ Mnemonic
"We used the HTB Business CTF to get our interns into the hacking world at the same time as the new hires and the more experienced members sharpened their skills. It was fun as well as rewarding to spend that weekend working together and sharing knowledge. I will definitely join for similar events in the future."

Security Manager | Senior Incident Responder @ ING INGBank
"Overall the challenges were pretty realistic, which is a big plus for me. Would definitely recommend joining the CTF, as it lets you test your skills in realistic scenarios, and challenge yourself against the best specialists in the field. We will join again next year."
No need for FOMO. Read last year's Business CTF recap here.