Westminster College Concludes Successful CTF Challenge with Grand Finale

Kupandole, Lalitpur. The Westminster College successfully organised a month-long cybersecurity competition titled “Cracking the Code: Playing with Cybersecurity Challenges & CTF”, engaging students from Cyber Security and Digital Forensics programmes across all levels.

The event was conducted in a hybrid format and ran from 1–28 April 2026, followed by the Grand Finale on 29 April 2026. The initiative aimed to provide students with practical exposure to cybersecurity through a series of Capture The Flag (CTF) challenges.

A total of 138 participants registered for the event, forming 76 teams. Throughout the programme, students actively engaged with a wide range of challenges, enhancing their skills in cryptography, web security, and digital forensics. To support continuous learning, 59 challenges were made available on the platform prior to the final round.

The Grand Finale showcased strong competition among top-performing teams. Team 301_Redirect, comprising Prajwal Acharya and Shubham Maharjan, secured the Winner position. Team The XORists (Shreejan Subedi and Anbisha Humagain) achieved the Runner-Up position, followed by Team Thor (Aayushman Shah and Nitesh Chaulagain) as the Second Runner-Up. The Emerging Team category recognised the performance of Level 3 students Sajana Shrestha and Arbin Chaudhary.

The event also featured a guest session by Mr Manoj Gautam, a Cybersecurity Researcher and IT Specialist, who shared valuable industry insights and experiences, including his contributions to identifying critical vulnerabilities in major digital platforms and his involvement in the Meta Bug Bounty Programme.

The competition provided a dynamic platform for students to apply theoretical knowledge in practical scenarios, while strengthening teamwork, analytical thinking, and problem-solving abilities. Despite taking place during the summer break, the event witnessed notable participation and engagement.

The Westminster College continues to promote experiential learning through such initiatives, fostering student development and encouraging innovation in the field of cybersecurity.