USUST students won the first Dnipropetrovsk region CTF Cybersecurity Championship

On 20 June 2026, a team from the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies won  in the region’s first official technological sports competition in the field of cybersecurity – Capture The Flag (CTF)
 
The championship brought together 16 teams  including university students and IT professionals from across the region. Over the course of seven hours, the participants tackled a series of practical cybersecurity challenges: identifying vulnerabilities in information systems, analysing digital evidence, investigating simulated cyberattacks, and demonstrating effective teamwork  within limited time.
 
The competition was organised with the support of the Cybersecurity Support Regional Centre of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, and the Technological Sports Federation of Ukraine. The event was aimed at strengthening young people’s digital competencies, promoting technological sports, and fostering the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
The championship was officially opened by Vitalii Lavrov, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalisation, the representatives of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration and the National Cyber Competitions Committee of the Technological Sports Federation of Ukraine.
 
The Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies  was represented at the championship by four teams including students  of the following specialities: F5 Cybersecurity and Information Protection, F7 Computer Engineering, F3 Computer Science, F6 Information Systems and Technologies, and F2 Software Engineering.
 
The USUST  team ‘Hedgehog in the Fog’ that won the championship included:
  • Captain  Sofiia Rusakevych,  a fourth-year student in  F5 Cybersecurity and Information Protection;
  • Oleksandr Slyvets, a fourth-year student in F5 Cybersecurity and Information Protection;
  • Danylo Panin,  a fifth-year student in  F7 Computer Engineering;
  • Danyil Vichev, a third-year student in F5 Cybersecurity and Information Protection;
  • Mykhailo Fursa, a  third-year student, F5 Cybersecurity and Information Protection.
The team was trained by Denys Ostapets, Associate Professor of the Department of Electronic Computing Machines at the SEI ‘DIIT’.
The university  was also represented by:
The team ‘Cyber Teapots’, including fourth-year students of the F5 Cybersecurity and Information Protection programme:
  • Mariia Kolodiazhna (Captain)
  • Maksym Nadopta
  • Dmytro Khodosevych
  • Danylo Kolodii
The team was trained by Volodymyr Dziuba, senior lecturer at the Department of Electronic Computing Machines, SEI ‘DIIT’.
  • ‘Forbidden Protectors’, including:
    • Danylo Korchan, a second-year student in F3 Computer Science;
    • Denys Oblaka, a second-year student in F3 Computer Science;
    • Yaroslav Volok, a third-year student in F6 Information Systems and Technologies;
    • Yehor Dusheiko, a third-year student in F6 Information Systems and Technologies;
    • Yaroslav Hunenko, a  second-year student in F2 Software Engineering.
    The team was trained by Professor Anton Huda and Associate Professor Andrii Zymohliad of the Department of Information Technologies and Systems at the SEI ‘DMI’.
  • The team ‘NULL’, including:
    • Arsenii Koshliak, a fifth-year student in F3 Computer Science;
    • Valentyn Lomonosov, a fifth-year student in  F3 Computer Science;
    • Ihor Solod, a  third-year student in F2 Software Engineering.
    The team was trained by Oleksandr Ivanov, Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Information Technologies at the SEI ‘DIIT’.
Throughout the teams’ preparation for and participation in the championship, coordination and communication were supported by Volodymyr Malovichko, Associate Professor and dean of the Faculty of Computer Technologies and Systems at the SEI ‘DIIT’.
 
The Capture The Flag (CTF) format is now one of the world’s most widely recognised practical cybersecurity competitions. It is designed to develop professional competencies of future cybersecurity specialists by immersing participants in realistic attack scenarios that require them to analyse complex information, devise innovative solutions, and collaborate effectively under pressure. These are among the most sought-after skills in today’s rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape.
The USUST students’ victory in the first regional championship is a demonstration of university’s high standard of education in information technologies and cybersecurity, as well as to its students’ ability to solve real-world cybersecurity challenges. By winning the competition, the ‘Hedgehog in the Fog’ team also earned the right to represent the Dnipropetrovsk region at the national stage of the championship, with the opportunity to advance to international competition should they achieve further success.
 
The Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies warmly congratulates the champions, all participating teams, and their coaches on this outstanding achievement and wishes them success in the upcoming national and international cybersecurity competitions.