Yesterday we organized VianuCTF 2025. 430 participants worldwide, 73 on-site

VianuCTF 2025: A Global Cybersecurity Success!

The 3rd edition of VianuCTF took place yesterday, Deember 16, 2025, from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM–seven hours of intense, non-stop work and high-level problem solving. Organized by the Vianu Cybersecurity Club (President: Matei Ferseta), this year’s event reached new heights.

Attendance & Reach

We had a total of 430 participants:

• 73 joined on-site, spread across four classrooms at the “Tudor Vianu” National High School of Computer Science.
• The rest joined online from every corner of the globe: Romania, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Latvia, Japan, Malaysia, Italy, Egypt, Russia, Hong Kong, Poland, Vietnam, Canada, India, Taiwan, Spain, Macedonia, Kosovo, USA, France, Turkey, Algeria – you name it!

On-site participants traveled from Bucharest and far beyond, including Suceava, Piatra Neamț, Slobozia, Vălenii de Munte, Ploiești, Târgoviște, Alba Iulia, and Constanța.

Competition Categories

The contest was individual, featuring identical challenges for all participants (plus an extra lockpicking challenge for those on-site). We had four main categories:

1. Online – OPEN: The largest group, open to everyone regardless of age or experience.
2. On-site – MIDDLE SCHOOL
3. On-site – HIGH SCHOOL
4. On-site – UNIVERSITY

Heart and Soul of the Event

A massive thank you to our Computer Science and ICT teachers who gave their all to make this happen: Corina Vinț, Gabriela Boca, and Elena Drăgan.

The preparations took days of hard work, but the results were worth it. Our participants were exceptionally disciplined and focused. Even when a few beginners arrived without laptops, the team quickly resolved the situation.

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Our Partners & Sponsors

This event would not have been possible without the support of our amazing partners:

• CyberEDU (Andrei Avădănei & Bogdan Carp): Provided the essential competition infrastructure.
• Orange: Strategic partner, they have initiated this competition 3 years ago, huge thanks to them.
• CTFtime: The world’s leading CTF platform listed our event on its homepage for over a day, which led to exceptional global participation.
• TP-LINK: Supplied professional equipment for high-speed, stand-alone internet, ensuring the competition ran smoothly outside the school’s standard network.
• INSTAROM, ACCACE, UNSICAR, CDS: Provided financial support covering everything from event logistics to the 40 Jerry’s Pizzas, water, and snacks that kept everyone energized.
• ProEDU Parents’ Federation (Eugen Ilea):Contributed 4,800 RON in prize money across all categories and custom t-shirts for all participants, volunteers, and organizers.
• BORJOMI: Provided delicious, natural orange and lemon juices.
• SanoVita: Kept everyone energized with healthy and tasty snacks.
• Mindblower: Provided exciting prizes for our winners.
• Electronic Arts (EA): Provided 20 game licenses to give out as prizes for our competition winners! (FC26).
• ICDL: Provided cybersecurity certification packages and courses, plus 1,000 RON for supplies.
• AQIRYS: Provided Gaming gear to give out as prizes to our competition winners!
• MARVO: Provided Gaming gear to give out as prizes to our competition winners!
• Bucharest Science Festival: Gifted science calendars to every single participant.

Results & Closing

The award ceremony took place in the school’s central hall. While some had to catch trains or left early, the atmosphere remained electric. Below, you can find a chronological gallery showcasing the preparation, check-in, the heat of the competition, and the organizing team in action.

The team did an excellent job. See you at the next edition!