Cyber Unbeatable: Team Europe Aces the 2025 International Cybersecurity Challenge

Hosted in Japan, Tokyo, the International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICC) gathered top cybersecurity talents from all around the world to compete and test their cybersecurity skills. A total of 8 teams from Africa, Asia, ASEAN, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Oceania, and the United States took part in the competition, representing more than 80 countries.

ENISA congratulates all the winning teams, US Cyber Team in 3rd place, Team Asia in 2nd place and Team Europe for keeping the winning title for the 4th year in a row.

The ENISA Executive Director, Juhan Lepassaar, highlighted: "With the International Cybersecurity Challenge, we invest into the cyber resilience of our future. We have the assets: our highly talented young generation! However, our return on investment will only be guaranteed if we give them the means to test and further develop their skills at a larger scale. This is precisely the purpose of the ICC."

The International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICC) is a global Capture the Flag event (CTF), to encourage the development of cybersecurity skills and to foster international cooperation. Competing with teams made up of nationalities from all over the world is therefore a unique opportunity for new cybersecurity talents to learn from cultural differences and still be able to efficiently cooperate.

Launched and led by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) in 2022, the international competition is organised thanks to the cooperation with both regional and international organisations. The EU delegation to Japan supported this edition of the ICC with the preparation of Team Europe and the organisation of the Team's logistics.

Teams competed against each other by solving complex cybersecurity puzzles, involving classic Jeopardy challenges - such as cryptography, reverse engineering, forensic, web exploitation - that are updated with contemporary software and technology challenges, like cloud, AI, Operational Technology (OT) environments, mobile applications and IoT. ICC also features an Attack and Defense competition, where players are requested to defend vulnerable services through patching while exploiting vulnerabilities of other teams and eventually steal flags.

To prepare the team, ENISA facilitates a structured training programme in close collaboration with Team Europe's official coaches. This includes training bootcamps, an official qualifier event, and a series of online training sessions aimed at developing both technical skills and team cohesion.

In anticipation of the 2025 Kunoichi Cyber Games, a dedicated all-female Team Europe flew to Tokyo in October last year. The purpose of the initiative was to highlight diversity and further encourage female participation in cybersecurity related activities.

Future International Cybersecurity Challenge

Looking ahead, the next International Cybersecurity Challenge (ICC 2026) will be held in May 2026 in Brisbane, Australia, together with the AUSCERT Conference, continuing the global mission to empower young cybersecurity talents and foster international cooperation across regions.

Additionally, in summer 2026, ENISA will support an international Female Capture the Flag (CTF) competition in Dublin, bringing together top female cybersecurity talents from Europe and partner regions. This event will include hands-on technical challenges, mentoring opportunities, and international collaboration activities, providing a dedicated platform to showcase and strengthen women's participation in cybersecurity.

The initiative builds on ENISA's ongoing efforts to promote diversity, inclusion, and equal access to cybersecurity careers worldwide.
The International Cybersecurity Challenge 2027 (ICC 2027) will be held in Ireland.