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Contest Rules

  • Number of rounds

    • Two rounds: Round 1 (open to everyone) and Round 2 (qualify via Round 1).

  • Eligibility requirements to participate in USACyO

    • ​Be with any citizenship. However, to be eligible on Team USA, you must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or a full-time middle/high school student studying in the U.S.

    • Be 20 years old or under on the first day of the international competition in the competition year.

  • Ban on using AI tools

    • Any AI tool, such as Gemini and ChatGPT, are strictly prohibited​.

    • During the contest, if you use any AI tool, you will be disqualified.

  • Internet

    • The Internet is allowed during the contest, with exceptions stated below:

      • No forums of any kind.

      • No AI​​

    • Principle: if you are not sure whether something on the Internet is against the rules, please email contact@usacyo.org and we will respond to you. 

  • Two camera self-recording rule

    • Because this contest is self proctored, during the contest, contestants are required to use a free recording software, such as Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), to record

      • their computer screens (monitors),

      • their faces.

    • Prior to the contest, please install this software on your computer and ensure that it works properly.​

    • Your entire screen should be fully in view on the recording software.

    • One camera should be recording your face (for this purpose, a computer camera works great).

    • Another camera should be recording your workspace. This camera should be a side camera. 

  • What contestants are allowed to use during the contest

    • The Internet (with exceptions described in the rules), including online tools

    • Pens, paper

    • ​Writeups​

  • What contestants are NOT allowed to use/do during the contest

    • AI assistant tools, such as ChatGPT and Gemini.

    • Social media, such as Discord servers, forums.

    • Cell phones.

    • ​DDoS attacks on the servers.

    • Brute force challenges on servers.

    • Communicate with other people.

    • ​Hacking the infrastructure.

  • How to contact us during the contest

    • Email us at contact@usacyo.org.

    • We will try our best to respond to your questions. However, we may refuse to respond to unreasonable questions, such as asking us how to solve a problem.

  • Disqualification (Zero tolerance on cheating)

    • One-cheating, permanent ban policy: If a student is identified to have a cheating behavior, this student is permanently disqualified for both the current and all future competition cycles.

    • If a disqualified student applies to an organization’s educational program (such as college applications, summer programs, or scholarship opportunities) and the program requests information about the student’s history with USACyO, we will truthfully disclose the student’s cheating behavior and the disqualification decision.

    • All decisions are final.

Contest Format

  • ​Logistics

    • Round 1 is 3 hours long, while Round 2 is 4 hours long. Both contests are done at home. Everyone competes at the same time.  

  • Platform

    • The contest will be held on CTFd. You are required to use your real name as your username. The platform link will be sent out later closer to the contest.

  • Dynamic Scoring

    • Each challenge is initially worth 500 points. ​

    • The number of points goes down in accordance to the number of people that solve that challenge.

    • If your score goes down during the competition, that is normal. Do not worry.

  • Advancement​​

    • The top contestants from Round 1 will move on to Round 2, and the top contestants from Round 2 will represent the US for ICO 2026.​

  • Categories

    • There are six categories listed in the syllabus. On competition day, challenges will be listed in their respective categories. ​

  • ​Flags

    • The flag format is of the form USACYO{1_4m_4_fl4g}. Any flag not in this format is a fake flag.​

    • Flag hoarding is strictly prohibited. In other words, submit your flags as soon as you get them. ​​

    • Flag sharing is also strictly prohibited.

FAQs

Question: I am a U.S. citizen attending a school outside of the U.S. Am I eligible to participate in USACyO?

Answer: Yes.​​​

​​

Question: I am neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. permanent resident (green card holder). Am I eligible to participate in USACyO?

Answer: Yes. Everyone in the world is welcome to participate, regardless of your citizenship or residency.

​

Question: Who register for the contest? Contestants or proctors?

Answer: Contestants.​

​

Question: Is USACyO individual-based or team-based?

Answer: Individual-based.

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USA Cybersecurity Olympiad (USACyO)

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