About the competition
Quantum Computing and Cybersecurity Hackathon is a Capture-The-Flag (CTF) competition organized by the QCSP (Quantum Computing Society of the Philippines) in partnership with several academic institutions across the country.
As the first quantum-themed CTF competition in the Philippines, the event combined traditional cybersecurity challenges with quantum computing concepts. Participants competed in teams to solve problems spanning Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), Digital Forensics & Incident Response (DFIR), Cryptography, and Classical-Quantum categories.
How it turned out
Champion (1st Place) - 165 team points, 65 individual points
My experience
Unlike most CTF competitions I had participated in previously, this event introduced a dedicated Classical-Quantum category that focused on fundamental quantum computing concepts and quantum circuit reasoning.
I spent most of the competition working on the Classical-Quantum challenges while my teammates tackled the more traditional cybersecurity categories. The problems required understanding concepts discussed throughout the lecture series, including quantum gates, circuit behavior, and basic quantum information principles.
Although the competition lasted only three hours, the team managed to consistently accumulate points across multiple categories.
My contribution accounted for 65 of our 165 total points, with most of those points coming from solving quantum-focused challenges.
By the end of the competition, our combined efforts placed us at the top of the Visayas regional leaderboard, earning us the Champion title for the regional leg.
