UZCTF

DARK SIGNAL

Whether you're new to CTFs or you're a seasoned player, the University of Zimbabwe Cybersecurity Association brings you Dark Signal, a beginner-friendly jeopardy-style capture the flag held to promote cybersecurity awareness in Zimbabwe. There's something here for you. Trace the signal.

Starts in

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The event has ended

Easy by design, so everyone can play

Dark Signal is built to welcome newcomers. The challenges are easy by design, so that everyone, whether it's your first CTF or your fiftieth, can solve something, score points, and feel part of the game. You don't need any prior experience, and nobody here is expected to already know it all. If you get stuck, that's part of learning, so search, experiment, and ask your teammates.

Veterans, you're welcome too. Come for the fun, race for the top of the scoreboard, and help bring someone new into the community.

Event details

Starts

Sat 24 Oct 2026, 10:00 CAT

Ends

Sun 25 Oct 2026, 10:00 CAT

Format

24-hour online jeopardy-style CTF

Who can play

Anyone in Zimbabwe, students and non-students alike

Teams

Up to 4 players per team

Challenges by

University of Zimbabwe & Sturtle Security

What is a jeopardy-style CTF?

Every challenge is a standalone puzzle with a point value. You pick whichever challenges you like, in any order, and your team earns points for each one it solves. There's no need to attack other teams. Each challenge hides a secret string called a flag. Find it, submit it, and the points are yours. The live scoreboard shows how every team is doing.

How to join

Check your inbox (and spam or junk) for a confirmation email from noreply@uzctf.tech and click the link.

Create a team and set a team name and password, or join a friend's team by entering their team name and password on the Team page.

When the event starts, open Challenges and start solving.

Rules

Play fair. One account per person, and one team per person.
Don't share flags or solutions with other teams during the event.
Don't attack the CTF platform, the scoreboard, or other players. Only attack challenge targets that the challenge says are in scope.
Don't use denial-of-service attacks, brute-force flag submissions, or automated scanners against the platform.
Searching the internet and using public tools is fine.
If you find a bug in the platform or a broken challenge, report it to the organisers instead of exploiting it.
The organisers' decisions are final, and teams that break the rules may be disqualified.
Flag format: UZCTF{...} unless a challenge says otherwise.

Help and contact

Trouble registering or didn't get the confirmation email? Reach the organisers by email at support@uzctf.tech, or join the event WhatsApp group for announcements and quick help: Join the WhatsApp group.

Organised by

UZ Cybersecurity Association