University League 2026-2027 | Spain and Europe

THE CYBERSECURITY COMPETITION WHERE AI IS REQUIRED

Teams don’t hack directly; they program autonomous agents that compete for them. A university league designed for the age of artificial intelligence.

University League 2026-2027 | Spain and Europe

THE CYBERSECURITY COMPETITION WHERE AI IS REQUIRED

Teams don’t hack directly; they program autonomous agents that compete for them. A university league designed for the age of artificial intelligence.

University League 2026-2027 | Origin Spain | Scope Europe

THE CYBERSECURITY COMPETITION WHERE AI IS REQUIRED

Teams don’t hack directly; they program autonomous agents that compete for them. A university league designed for the age of artificial intelligence.

ACDx

ACDx

WHAT IS ACDX?

A competition where players don't play

A competition where players don't play

A Capture The Flag competition where the players don’t play— their AI agents play for them. In a classic CTF, human hackers solve security challenges manually. In the ACDX, each team builds an artificial intelligence agent, an autonomous program that reasons, runs hacking tools, and captures flags without human intervention.

A Capture The Flag competition where the players don’t play— their AI agents play for them. In a classic CTF, human hackers solve security challenges manually. In the ACDX, each team builds an artificial intelligence agent, an autonomous program that reasons, runs hacking tools, and captures flags without human intervention.

Teams compete in agent design: prompt engineering, autonomous systems architecture, model selection, cost efficiency, and, of course, deep cybersecurity expertise.

Teams compete in agent design: prompt engineering, autonomous systems architecture, model selection, cost efficiency, and, of course, deep cybersecurity expertise.

More than 30 challenges

Web, cryptography, reverse engineering among others. Progressive difficulty from beginner to expert.

Open models

GPT-OSS, Qwen, Llama, Mistral — all under the Apache 2.0 license. No black boxes.

100% EU sovereign

Infrastructure and models on European servers. Native GDPR. No data outside the EU.

Everything monitored

Every prompt, every command, every HTTP request. Full visibility into the agent’s reasoning.

WHY AN AI-CTF

WHY AN AI-CTF

AI is already breaking CTFs. We designed one for the AI era.

AI is already breaking CTFs. We designed one for the AI era.

The problem

The problem

AI agents are already solving cybersecurity challenges faster than most human teams. In recent competitions, automated tools have dominated rankings, inflated scores, and eroded the spirit of competition. Human players are being pushed out—not because they aren’t good, but because competing against automated systems that don’t sleep, don’t get tired, and run thousands of attempts in parallel is not a fair competition.

AI agents are already solving cybersecurity challenges faster than most human teams. In recent competitions, automated tools have dominated rankings, inflated scores, and eroded the spirit of competition. Human players are being pushed out—not because they aren’t good, but because competing against automated systems that don’t sleep, don’t get tired, and run thousands of attempts in parallel is not a fair competition.

AI agents are already solving cybersecurity challenges faster than most human teams. In recent competitions, automated tools have dominated rankings, inflated scores, and eroded the spirit of competition. Human players are being pushed out—not because they aren’t good, but because competing against automated systems that don’t sleep, don’t get tired, and run thousands of attempts in parallel is not a fair competition.

It's a real problem. And it has several solutions.

It's a real problem. And it has several solutions.

ROAD TO

Restrict AI

Hold CTFs in person, with supervision, extremely difficult challenges, and guarantees of individual identity. This approach works, and organizations like ECSC and DEF CON CTF already apply it successfully. But it excludes most students.

PATH B — OUR PATH

Force the AI

Instead of banning automation, we turned it into the game. Teams compete on engineering quality: agent design, model strategy, tool automation, cost management, and multi-step reasoning.

We don’t level down by limiting tools. We level up by making AI the playing field.
We don’t level down by limiting tools. We level up by making AI the playing field.

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Certificates and regulations

Certificates and regulations

Only open-source models. European servers only.

Only open-source models. European servers only.

ACDX does not rely on proprietary APIs or infrastructure outside the EU. All available models are open-source—the same ones teams can inspect, download, and study: GPT-OSS (117B and 21B), Qwen3, Llama 3.3, Mistral. There are no black boxes. All infrastructure runs on servers in the European Union, operated by European providers.

Native GDPR

Data processed and stored exclusively in the EU. Explicit consent. Right to be forgotten.

ISO 27001

Certified information security management system. Access controls, encryption, periodic audits.

ENS High Level

Compliance with the National Security Framework at its most demanding level. A requirement for Spanish public administrations.

Open models

We are committed to open models in our projects, without restrictive licenses or dependence on proprietary vendors.

Spanish public universities operate under the ENS. Working with platforms that do not comply with these standards creates regulatory friction. ACDX is designed from day one to integrate seamlessly into the European institutional context.

How does it work?

How does it work?

The mechanics of the competition

The mechanics of the competition

Each team receives an isolated container with Kali Linux, preinstalled pentesting tools (nmap, sqlmap, curl...) and access to open-source language models running on European servers.

Each team receives an isolated container with Kali Linux, preinstalled pentesting tools (nmap, sqlmap, curl...) and access to open-source language models running on European servers.

STEP 1

Read the challenge description

Target IP, instructions, context of the vulnerable system.

STEP 2

Call an open-source LLM to reason

The agent asks the model which tool to use, which vector to exploit, and what to explore next.

STEP 3

Interact with the system

The agent runs nmap, sqlmap, curl, netcat, or other tools against the vulnerable application.

STEP 4

Analyze results and repeat

Until the flag is found. The reason → execute → observe cycle continues autonomously.

No in-house infrastructure is needed. The platform is deployed at the university. The platform captures everything: every prompt, every LLM response, every command, every HTTP request.

academic year 2026/2027

academic year 2026/2027

University program

University program

We are currently in a phase of recruiting Spanish universities. We work directly with professors and student associations to bring ACDX into classrooms.

We are currently in a phase of recruiting Spanish universities. We work directly with professors and student associations to bring ACDX into classrooms.

// PHASE 01

In-person workshops

Half-day workshops to kick-start teams. Introduction to AI-CTF, agent design, and a first live competition. We provide the platform and the trainers.

// PHASE 02

Training challenges

Continuous access to the platform with progressive challenges. Teams practice between workshops and measure their improvement in real time.

// PHASE 03

Formal League

During the 2026–2027 academic year, a competitive league among Spanish universities with rankings, prizes, and recognition.

We provide the technical platform. The university only needs motivated teams.
We provide the technical platform. The university only needs motivated teams.

UNIVERSITY PARTNERS

UNIVERSITY PARTNERS

Universities that already they trust ACDX

Universities who already trust in the ACDX

Autonomous University of Madrid
Comillas Pontifical University — ICAI
Your university coming soon

Current Affairs

Current Affairs

This is how ACDX is moving forward

This is how ACDX is moving forward

Pontifical Comillas University: School of Engineering (ICAI)

First day at ICAI with its students, in a CTF session designed to learn by doing, tackle real challenges, and continue fostering talent in cybersecurity.
First day at ICAI with its students, in a CTF session designed to learn by doing, tackle real challenges, and continue fostering talent in cybersecurity.

FAQ

Everything you need to know

Do I need to know about cybersecurity to participate?

You don’t need to be an expert. ACDX features progressively challenging tasks, from beginner to expert level. What you do need is curiosity, a desire to learn Python, and a motivated team. The kickoff workshops cover the fundamentals.

What programming languages are used?

Agents are primarily written in Python. It is the standard language for security automation and for interacting with LLMs through APIs. Knowledge of other languages is not required, although familiarity with Bash and basic scripting helps.

Can I participate if my university is not a partner yet?

Yes. You can contact us directly, either as an interested student or through a professor at your university. We are in the process of onboarding new universities, and the sooner you get in touch, the better your chances of participating in the first edition.

Is there any cost for teams?

Participation is free for students. Access to the platform, language models, and challenges is included. Any potential travel costs for in-person events depend on each university.

What infrastructure does the university need to provide?

Virtually none. We provide the complete technical platform: cloud deployment, team-isolated containers, language models, challenges, a scoring system, and a real-time dashboard. The university only needs to provide motivated teams and, optionally, space for the workshops.

When does the first league start?

The first formal league is scheduled for the 2026–2027 academic year. We are currently in the recruitment phase for Spanish universities. If your university would like to take part in the inaugural phase, now is the time to contact us — places are limited.

Does ACDX comply with my public university's regulations?

Yes. ACDX is designed from the ground up to comply with GDPR, ISO 27001, and ENS High Level, the most demanding standard for information systems in Spanish public administrations. All infrastructure operates on European servers (OVHcloud). No data leaves the EU.

FAQ

Everything you need to know

Do I need to know about cybersecurity to participate?

You don’t need to be an expert. ACDX features progressively challenging tasks, from beginner to expert level. What you do need is curiosity, a desire to learn Python, and a motivated team. The kickoff workshops cover the fundamentals.

What programming languages are used?

Agents are primarily written in Python. It is the standard language for security automation and for interacting with LLMs through APIs. Knowledge of other languages is not required, although familiarity with Bash and basic scripting helps.

Can I participate if my university is not a partner yet?

Yes. You can contact us directly, either as an interested student or through a professor at your university. We are in the process of onboarding new universities, and the sooner you get in touch, the better your chances of participating in the first edition.

Is there any cost for teams?

Participation is free for students. Access to the platform, language models, and challenges is included. Any potential travel costs for in-person events depend on each university.

What infrastructure does the university need to provide?

Virtually none. We provide the complete technical platform: cloud deployment, team-isolated containers, language models, challenges, a scoring system, and a real-time dashboard. The university only needs to provide motivated teams and, optionally, space for the workshops.

When does the first league start?

The first formal league is scheduled for the 2026–2027 academic year. We are currently in the recruitment phase for Spanish universities. If your university would like to take part in the inaugural phase, now is the time to contact us — places are limited.

Does ACDX comply with my public university's regulations?

Yes. ACDX is designed from the ground up to comply with GDPR, ISO 27001, and ENS High Level, the most demanding standard for information systems in Spanish public administrations. All infrastructure operates on European servers (OVHcloud). No data leaves the EU.

FAQ

Everything you need to know

Do I need to know about cybersecurity to participate?

You don’t need to be an expert. ACDX features progressively challenging tasks, from beginner to expert level. What you do need is curiosity, a desire to learn Python, and a motivated team. The kickoff workshops cover the fundamentals.

What programming languages are used?

Agents are primarily written in Python. It is the standard language for security automation and for interacting with LLMs through APIs. Knowledge of other languages is not required, although familiarity with Bash and basic scripting helps.

Can I participate if my university is not a partner yet?

Yes. You can contact us directly, either as an interested student or through a professor at your university. We are in the process of onboarding new universities, and the sooner you get in touch, the better your chances of participating in the first edition.

Is there any cost for teams?

Participation is free for students. Access to the platform, language models, and challenges is included. Any potential travel costs for in-person events depend on each university.

What infrastructure does the university need to provide?

Virtually none. We provide the complete technical platform: cloud deployment, team-isolated containers, language models, challenges, a scoring system, and a real-time dashboard. The university only needs to provide motivated teams and, optionally, space for the workshops.

When does the first league start?

The first formal league is scheduled for the 2026–2027 academic year. We are currently in the recruitment phase for Spanish universities. If your university would like to take part in the inaugural phase, now is the time to contact us — places are limited.

Does ACDX comply with my public university's regulations?

Yes. ACDX is designed from the ground up to comply with GDPR, ISO 27001, and ENS High Level, the most demanding standard for information systems in Spanish public administrations. All infrastructure operates on European servers (OVHcloud). No data leaves the EU.

Automated Cyber Defence Challenge

ACDX is a non-profit association created to promote learning, competition, and talent development in cybersecurity and AI.

Sponsors:

Are you a student?

Form a team, talk to your teacher or association, and write to us.

ARE YOU A TEACHER?

We help you integrate ACDX into your program. Workshops, platform, and support included.

COMPANY OR INSTITUTION?

Sponsorship, collaboration, personalized challenges.

© 2026 ACDX. All rights reserved.

Automated Cyber Defence Challenge

ACDX is a non-profit association created to promote learning, competition, and talent development in cybersecurity and AI.

Sponsors:

Are you a student?

Form a team, talk to your teacher or association, and write to us.

ARE YOU A TEACHER?

We help you integrate ACDX into your program. Workshops, platform, and support included.

COMPANY OR INSTITUTION?

Sponsorship, collaboration, personalized challenges.

© 2026 ACDX. All rights reserved.

Automated Cyber Defence Challenge

ACDX is a non-profit association created to promote learning, competition, and talent development in cybersecurity and AI.

Sponsors:

Are you a student?

Form a team, talk to your teacher or association, and write to us.

ARE YOU A TEACHER?

We help you integrate ACDX into your program. Workshops, platform, and support included.

COMPANY OR INSTITUTION?

Sponsorship, collaboration, personalized challenges.

© 2026 ACDX. All rights reserved.