h7ctf ’26_
india's most unserious ctf.
a global capture the flag where the best hacker still wins, not the biggest AI budget.
skill still wins
somewhere along the way, jeopardy ctf became a contest of whose AI budget is bigger, not who can actually hack. h7ctf ’26 puts the human back on top.
we don't ban AI; you can't, online. instead the quals run on a scoring economy where judgment beats throughput, so no stack of agents can buy the top of the board. the onsite finals are human-only. AI's welcome as a tool. it just doesn't get to win for you.
two stages
global online qualifier
a 36-hour jeopardy ctf, open to any team on earth. beginner tracks up to a hard novel tier. the top teams that opt in go onsite.
26–27 sep · online
attack, defend, hold the hill
a human-only, two-day live battle at srmist chennai. defend your own services, break into everyone else's, and fight to hold shared ground. attack-defense meets king-of-the-hill.
24–25 oct · srmist
the largest cash pool yet for 2026, on top of a deep stack of training, tooling & certification vouchers for winners right across the board.
twelve categories
schedule
past editions
backers
who had our back in 2025 · 2026 crew loading.
partner with h7ctf ’26
put your brand in front of a vetted, global pool of student and early-career security talent, across the platform, the challenges and the onsite finals.
become a sponsor