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Winning insights from Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge champions

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Winning insights from Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge champions
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The Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge is an ongoing cybersecurity competition that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) hosts for technologists of all levels. It is a free competition that garners hundreds of attendees and awards top-performing participants with cash prizes. 

Beyond the financial gain winners incur, the Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge offers all of its participants:

  • Experience tackling the real-world cybersecurity scenarios facing the DoD
  • Cybersecurity insights that traditional education methods don’t 
  • A fun environment to learn and connect with professionals in the field 
  • The chance to show off their skills in front of the DoD recruitment team

With a few Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenges in the books, it’s time to hear the experiences of past competition winners. 

Why should I join the Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge? 

 

Showcase and sharpen your skills regardless of your education

The Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge is a test of skill, intuition, and problem-solving under pressure. Participants found the perfect balance of stress and excitement, with challenges tailored to their expertise.

The capture the flag (CTF) was the perfect combination of stress and reward, especially considering I had to compete against my buddy and UCF legend, Cameron Whitehead, keeping things interesting until the very end.

The tournament felt directed to my skills, which helped me do well because there were no challenges in areas where I am less skilled, such as crypto. I was confident in my ability to figure out any challenge by concentrating my efforts.
Waseem A.
Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge champion
I wanted to participate in the DoD Cyber Sentinel Challenge because I saw it as a great opportunity to challenge myself and showcase my skills. It was a really fun competition and I had a fun time solving the challenges, with some favorites being the Gameboy reverse engineering challenge and the Rick Roll forensics challenge.
Alex Z.
Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge runner up
Coming into a challenge you need to be confident in your knowledge and trust your methodologies. Once I solved the first challenge, I had momentum because I could gauge the difficulty of the tasks and begin letting my intuition take the lead.

I have no formal education or experience in cybersecurity, so a lot of my skills come from learning from my teammates and trial and error through CTFs or Labs. Struggling on a problem is a sign of full mental engagement and it should be something that's seen as a positive. Further growth comes from reinforcing your knowledge by reading writeups and learning how you would be able to improve your methodology to solve that challenge next time.
Joshua G.
5th place Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge winner

 

Train, compete, and level up

Success in CTF competitions is also about preparation, practice and persistence. By competing, you refine your intuition, strengthen your problem-solving skills, and gain valuable insights that can elevate your cybersecurity expertise.

The challenges were fantastic and helped me identify that I'll need to work on web and reverse engineering before the next competition. I particularly enjoyed Photographic Memory, it was a great reminder to not overthink things and always check the simple solutions.

I try to do at least one CTF every few months for practice which helps me recognize the key to a few puzzles quickly, spend more time on the harder challenges, and place higher on the scoreboard. The prize money is going towards homelab upgrades so I can practice before the next one! My advice to people interested in CTFs but maybe on the fence would be to go for it. Experience comes with time and exposure, and capture the flag events are a great low-stakes way to improve.
Aaron P.
6th place Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge winner
My previous experience with CTFs definitely helped me perform very well, and as for my prize, I'll probably be using it to fund my DEFCON trip later this summer.
Alex Z.
Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge runner up


Can I participate in the next Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge?

The next Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge is on June 14, 2025. You can register for the next event here as long as you are: 

  • A U.S. citizen (native or naturalized) 
  • Over the age of 18 
  • Genuinely interested in a career at the DoD

As part of an ongoing series, the Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge improves with every competition by incorporating insights and lessons learned from past competitions into upcoming event formats. 

Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out in the industry, the Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge welcomes you. 

Recap: Competition from Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge victors

Here’s an expert summary of what it takes to come out on top at the Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge: 

  1. Embrace your intuition  – Success in the competition comes from trusting one's knowledge, methodologies, and ability to adapt under pressure.
  2. Preparation is key – Cyber Sentinel champions recommended using platforms like picoCTF, TryHackMe, and Hack The Box for practice, reinforcing that experience, confidence and exposure lead to better performance.
  3. Lean into the challenge — Struggling with a problem is a positive step forward in your skill development that reinforces knowledge and problem-solving techniques. Don’t let it discourage you during the competition. 

If you're passionate about cybersecurity and eager to test your skills, learn new techniques, and explore career opportunities with the DoD, the Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge is your best bet.

Sign up today to participate in the next Cyber Sentinel Skills Challenge.

 
Publish date: May 19, 2025

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