Security Strategy, Plan, Budget

Competitors to vie for $2m prize in DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge

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In 2016, supercomputers developed during a Cyber Grand Challenge will duke it out at the DEF CON Conference in Las Vegas, in an all-computer Capture the Flag tournament hosted by DARPA that will yield a $2 million payout for the winning team.

CTF tournaments and challenges have traditionally pitted the best minds in computer security against each other in competition DARPA calls “the ultimate test of wits.” But the Cyber Grand Challenge is asking innovators around the world to develop high-performance computers to compete in CTF-style tournaments.

In the first qualifying event of the challenge in 2015, DARPA will distribute a large collection of Challenge Binaries that systems worldwide must race to automatically secure and evaluate. Teams must transmit a secured version of the collection back to DARPA that flags flaws. Top finishers will be eligible to advance to the Las Vegas finale. Second and third place winners will take home $1 million and $750,000 respectively.

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