Sheffield Hallam hosts successful third annual cybersecurity competition

29th April 2025

Sheffield Hallam University have successfully hosted the third edition of the Sheffield Siege ‘Capture The Flag’ (CTF) competition bringing together 17 cybersecurity student teams from universities across the United Kingdom.

The competition challenged participants with a variety of cybersecurity tasks including reverse engineering, open-source intelligence (OSINT), cryptography, web security, and artificial intelligence challenges. 

Tharmini Janarthanan, Lecturer in Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics, said: "The Sheffield Siege CTF provides a unique opportunity for students to apply theoretical knowledge in practical, real-world scenarios. This competition helps develop the next generation of cybersecurity professionals." 

The event was highly competitive, with the following teams securing top positions: 

First Place: Lancaster Uni RAPCHAS Team (Lancaster University) 

Second Place: UCEN Manchester Team (The University of Manchester) 

Third Place: Hopeless Team (Sheffield Hallam University) 

Sheffield Hallam's own team secured third place, representing the University's BSc (Hons) Cybersecurity, BSc (Hons) Cybersecurity with Forensics, and MSc Cyber Security courses. 

Minal, Selwan, Thomas, Brayden and Grace, who were all part of the third-place team, said: "From first timers to seasoned competitors, our team's CTF journey led to an unexpected bronze medal win. Assembled that morning, we quickly bonded and created incredible chemistry. The interactive challenges pushed our skills while teaching us on the go.  

“Whether it was a final competition before graduation or a first taste of what's possible, we connected with new friends and discovered capabilities we didn't know we had. Looking back at our success, we're already planning our return—with more knowledge and more practice” 

The competition was made possible through the support of key industry partners and sponsors including Hack The Box, Cyber Alchemy Ltd, CyberWomen@SHU, SteelCon, BSides Leeds, BCS South Yorkshire, BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT, and HSBC. 

Their involvement underscores the importance of industry-academia collaboration in addressing the growing demand for cybersecurity professionals. 

As part f the event, Nyx Taylor and Charlie Sabban from HSBC spoke to the teams to share their insights and experiences of working in cyber and how to get into the industry.