LakeCTF
LakeCTF is a jeopardy-style security hacking contest organized by the polygl0ts CTF team (plus some friends!) and the EPFL School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC).
Participants first compete in an online qualification round, and the qualified teams will physically compete in the finals in Lausanne. The top teams will have the unique chance to meet the top members of the EPFL research community.
We wish you the best of luck !
SPECIAL: Insomni'hack qualifiers combined
The top 10 academic teams (or academic-only subsets of mixed teams) qualify for the LakeCTF Finals. Academic teams may also opt to be considered for Insomni’hack and can attend both events if eligible.
The top 3 teams interested in Insomni’hack will receive fully covered accommodation and tickets, while teams placing 4th to 6th overall will receive tickets only.
All the rest of the information in this page will only be relevant
to LakeCTF quals/finals!
Quals schedule
| Qualification start | Fri 28th of November, 18:00 UTC |
| Qualification end | Sat 29th of November, 18:00 UTC |
Finals schedule
The finals will take place around May 2026 in Lausanne. The exact schedule is TBD and will be published soon.
Travel and accomodation
Accomodation in Lausanne for finalist teams will be partially covered.
Locations
| CTF Finals | INM 065 at EPFL |
| Hotel | TBD |
Contact
- Our primary method of communication for the CTF will be the official competition Discord.
Rules
- There is no limit on the number of people who may participate in a single team in the quals. All participants of a team should only use one team account.
- Up to 10 academic teams will be allowed to the LakeCTF finals. The finals will take place physically in Lausanne at EPFL. Only 8 players per team will be allowed to play the finals. Remote players are not allowed.
- Up to 6 professional teams will be awarded prizes for Insomni'hack (accomodation or conference tickets). Insomni'hack will take place in March 16-20th.
- Sharing flags or solutions during the contest is strictly prohibited. This action is subject to disqualification.
- Attacking machines other than those designated as LakeCTF 2026 target machines is prohibited.
- If you find a bug in the contest infrastructure, congratulations (but you should report it).
- EPFL students/staff can take part in the quals but are not allowed to qualify for the finals.
- If you are not sure if something is a violation of the rules, it probably is.
LakeCTF Prizes
All teams that qualify for the finals will have accommodation paid by EPFL. Furthermore, the top scoring teams will receive (for each member):
| 🥇 First place | TBD |
| 🥈 Second place | TBD |
| 🥉 Third place | TBD |
Bonus rewards:
| Best 5 writeups | TBD |
All finalist teams will receive a bag of EPFL and polygl0ts merch.
Sponsors
Asymmetric Research (AR) is a Web3 security and infrastructure provider dedicated to safeguarding Layer 1 blockchains and DeFi protocols. Focused on enabling secure innovation through long-term partnerships, AR acts as a core contributor, delivering tailored security solutions and critical infrastructure to clients. Recognized as a high-trust partner, AR empowers founders and project leaders to navigate the complexities of the blockchain when the stakes could not be higher.
Orange Cyberdefense is the expert cybersecurity business unit of the Orange Group,
providing consulting, solutions and services to organizations around the globe.
We believe strongly that technology alone is not a solution. We help our customers
achieve superior security outcomes via our 3000+ security professionals, partnerships
with top-tier vendors, threat intelligence and in-house R&D including a CERT and
Epidemiology Lab.
Orange Cyberdefense Switzerland is born from the acquisition in 2022 of SCRT and Telsys:
two long-standing players in the Swiss cybersecurity landscape. By combining the expertise
of the Swiss-based team (120+ people) with the support of the broader Orange Cyberdefense
group, we can offer a global protection combined with local expertise and support to our
Swiss-based customers.
Orange Cyberdefense Switzerland (previously SCRT) are also the founders and organizers of
the Insomni’hack cybersecurity conference and hacking contest, which grew from a small
CTF in 2008 to a major cybersecurity event in Europe nowadays.
Infomaniak is a Swiss cloud provider that develops a suite of online
collaborative tools and solutions for cloud hosting, streaming, marketing
and events. Our mission is to develop technological independence in
Europe with ethical cloud solutions that make no compromises on ecology and privacy.
The company uses exclusively local renewable energy, builds its own data
centers and develops its solutions in Switzerland, without relocating.
With millions of users and the trust of public and private organizations
all over Europe -including RTBF, the United Nations, central banks, over
3,000 radio and TV stations, and numerous metropolises and security organisations,
it was awarded the Prix Suisse de l'Ethique 2023 and the Prix du développement
durable 2023 by the canton of Geneva for its new data center, which fully
recycle the energy it consumes to heat up to 6,000 households.
- Website
- Bug bounty Program
- Check out our open positions (feel free to send unsolicited applications)
Zellic is a security research firm. We hire top CTF talent to solve the world's most critical
security problems. We specialize in ZKPs, cryptography, web app security, smart contracts, and
blockchain L1/L2s. Before Zellic, we previously founded perfect blue, the #1 CTF team in 2020 and 2021.
As part of a comprehensive compensation package, we offer competitive salaries and benefits.
You're a good fit for Zellic if you have extensive real-world experience in vulnerability
research (VR) / binary exploitation, reverse engineering (RE), cryptography, or web security.
To learn more about Zellic, check out our blog
Work at Zellic: |
zellic.io/careers |
@gf_256
Meet the founders:
About LakeCTF
LakeCTF's first edition took place on the special occasion of the 20 years anniversary of the IC School (Computer and Communication Sciences) in 2022. Due to its great success, we are organizing the fourth edition of LakeCTF with online qualifiers in fall 2025 and finals on EPFL's campus in Lausanne in spring 2026.
In collaboration with the IC School, accommodation, a tour of Lausanne, lunch and dinner are provided for the finals.
polygl0ts is the official EPFL CTF team. It was born in 2018 and is still going strong, taking part in major CTFs as part of the bigger organizers team, one of the top team on CTFtime.
