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QUALIFICATION COMPLETE — TOP 30 SELECTED
Albanian Double-Headed Eagle

CYBER SECURITY CHALLENGE ALBANIA 2026

PHASE 1 COMPLETE // TOP 30 SELECTED // MAY 2026

The online qualification phase has concluded. Albania's top 30 hackers have been selected and will now advance to the internal selection phase at the AKSK laboratory. The journey to ECSC 2026 in Bochum, Germany continues — Phase 2 begins now.

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NATIONS AT ECSC
selection_results.sh
hacker@cscg-al:~$ █
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ABOUT THE QUALIFIER

Albania's national online qualifier has concluded. The CSCG 2026 platform — generously provided by our German partners — hosted a Jeopardy-style CTF where the best young hackers competed for a place to represent Albania at the European Cyber Security Challenge (ECSC) in Bochum, Germany.

COMPLETED

The Competition

Albania's national online qualification was a solo Jeopardy-style CTF open to all Albanian residents aged 14–25. Challenges spanned reverse engineering, web, crypto, pwn, forensics, steganography, PPC, misc, and hardware — testing the full spectrum of cybersecurity skills.

WHO CAN JOIN

Eligibility

Open to all young people aged 14–25 with Albanian citizenship or residency. Whether you're a student, self-taught hacker, or aspiring security professional — if you have the skills, we want you. No prior competition experience needed.

THE PRIZE

Represent Albania

The Top 30 qualifiers from the online phase advance to the internal selection at the AKSK laboratory. The final 10 (5 Juniors + 5 Seniors) earn their place in Team Albania. All travel, accommodation, and expenses to ECSC 2026 in Bochum are covered.

CATEGORIES

What You'll Be Tested On

⚙️ Reverse Engineering
🌐 Web Exploitation
🔐 Cryptography
💥 Binary Exploitation (Pwn)
🔍 Forensics
🎨 Steganography
💻 PPC (Programming)
🏗️ Miscellaneous
🔧 Hardware
Albanian Eagle

Albanian Talent Delivered

30 exceptional hackers have stepped up and proved that Albanian talent belongs on the European stage. The qualification is complete — now the real journey begins. The final team of 10 will carry the Albanian flag to Bochum.

PHASE SELECTION
TEAM SIZE 5+5
DESTINATION BOCHUM

HOW IT WORKS

Four phases from online qualification to representing Albania at ECSC 2026 — Phase 1 is complete.

01

Phase 1 — Online Qualification — COMPLETE ✓

The online Jeopardy-style CTF ran on the CSCG platform from March 1 – May 1, 2026. Participants competed solo across age groups: AL/Junior (14–20) and AL/Senior (21–25). Albania's Top 30 have been selected and are advancing to Phase 2.

COMPLETE • Mar–May 2026 • Top 30 Selected ✓
02

Phase 2 — Internal Selection & A/D Training

Top 30 players move to an intensive phase at the AKSK laboratory. Compete in an internal Jeopardy CTF to prove your skill under pressure. Begin Attack-Defense training: learn to patch your Gamebox, develop real-time exploits, and analyze traffic.

On-site • AKSK Lab • Internal CTF
03

Phase 3 — Final Team Balance

The Final 10 are selected from the internal qualifier. Coaches ensure discipline balance — experts in Web, Pwn, Crypto, and Forensics. Per ENISA rules: 5 Juniors (14–20) and 5 Seniors (21–25).

5 Juniors + 5 Seniors • All expenses covered
04

Phase 4 — ECSC 2026 Finals 🇦🇱

Travel to Bochum, Germany (October 12–16, 2026). Day 1: elite Jeopardy. Day 2: high-intensity Attack-Defense. Defend your Vulnbox, exploit your opponents, submit flags. An award ceremony with government and industry leaders concludes the event.

Bochum, Germany • 12–16 Oct 2026

NATIONAL COACHES

The experienced professionals who will guide and train the top qualifiers into Team Albania for ECSC 2026.

Bledar Kacadej

National Coach Purple Team
01
Head of Incident Investigation Unit
15 years in IT & Network Cybersecurity
FOCUS AREAS
Incident Response Digital Forensics Network Security Engineering Incident Investigation

With a solid background in network security engineering and a passion for tackling complex cybersecurity challenges, Bledar brings invaluable expertise to Incident Investigation, Incident Response and Digital Forensics at AKSK (NCSA). His extensive experience in designing, implementing and maintaining secure network and system infrastructures ensures the team's defensive capabilities are robust and effective.

CERTIFICATIONS
Cisco Fortinet Oracle Azure Cloud EC-Council OffSec Immersive Labs ECSC National Coach
NCSA — National Cyber Security Authority of Albania

Kristian Josifi

National Coach Purple Team
02
Malware Analysis & Digital Forensics
6 years in Software Development
FOCUS AREAS
Malware Analysis Vulnerability Detection Software Engineering Incident Investigation

With a rich background in diverse projects, Kristian adeptly utilizes programming languages such as C#, Java, Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript. His proficiency extends to frameworks like ASP.NET MVC, Unity, Springboot, Angular, Flask, and Django. Boasting significant experience in analyzing malicious programs and detecting security vulnerabilities in digital environments.

CERTIFICATIONS & SKILLS
OSCP OSCP+ Java Angular Python C# TypeScript ECSC National Coach
NCSA — National Cyber Security Authority of Albania

Jetmir Rajta

National Coach Red Team
03
Red Team Analyst — NCSA Albania
5+ years in IT & Cybersecurity
FOCUS AREAS
Penetration Testing Vulnerability Assessment Hackathon Leadership Capacity Building

With a diverse background spanning IT, Political Sciences, Military service, and International Relations, Jetmir brings multifaceted expertise to his role. Currently serving on the Red Team at NCSA, his focus is on pentesting and finding vulnerabilities before the adversaries. A recognized leader in hackathons, tabletop exercises, and capacity-building workshops, he is fiercely dedicated to fortifying Albania's critical information infrastructures.

CERTIFICATIONS & ACHIEVEMENTS
CEH THM Top 1% ECSC National Coach
NCSA — National Cyber Security Authority of Albania
COMPETING PLAYERS

Top 30 from the qualifier → Internal selection at AKSK → Final 10 announced here. Could it be you?

01

Team Captain

Your name here?
OPEN
02

Player 02

Qualify to claim
OPEN
03

Player 03

Qualify to claim
OPEN
04

Player 04

Qualify to claim
OPEN
05

Player 05

Qualify to claim
OPEN
06

Player 06

Qualify to claim
OPEN
07

Player 07

Qualify to claim
OPEN
08

Player 08

Qualify to claim
OPEN
09

Player 09

Qualify to claim
OPEN
10

Player 10

Qualify to claim
OPEN

TOP 30 QUALIFIERS

Qualification phase concluded on May 1, 2026. These 30 players earned their place through skill and determination — they advance to the internal selection phase at the AKSK laboratory.

PHASE 1 — ONLINE QUALIFICATION — COMPLETE Top score: 5,713 pts • Platform: CSCG 2026 by our German partners • 30 players qualified
MAY 1, 2026
★ Top 3
▶ Positions 4–10
S Senior (21–25)
J Junior (14–20)
# HANDLE DIVISION SCORE STATUS
01 flavio SENIOR 5,713 ✓ QUALIFIED
02 Malv3r SENIOR 5,713 ✓ QUALIFIED
03 I31D05 SENIOR 5,713 ✓ QUALIFIED
04 Aaaaa?! SENIOR 4,801 ✓ QUALIFIED
05 MonsterBardhe JUNIOR 4,801 ✓ QUALIFIED
06 pp.22 SENIOR 4,387 ✓ QUALIFIED
07 LORD DARK SENIOR 4,387 ✓ QUALIFIED
08 иαѕισιν JUNIOR 4,387 ✓ QUALIFIED
09 tedi_v SENIOR 4,218 ✓ QUALIFIED
10 0xarc JUNIOR 3,988 ✓ QUALIFIED
11 XSkull SENIOR 3,839 ✓ QUALIFIED
12 Megi SENIOR 3,178 ✓ QUALIFIED
13 pego SENIOR 2,711 ✓ QUALIFIED
14 nan0 SENIOR 2,190 ✓ QUALIFIED
15 pr0f3550r1 (G1t0) SENIOR 2,085 ✓ QUALIFIED
16 Gleris SENIOR 1,970 ✓ QUALIFIED
17 Dracarys SENIOR 1,739 ✓ QUALIFIED
18 Alpet Gexha SENIOR 1,545 ✓ QUALIFIED
19 Georgia SENIOR 1,512 ✓ QUALIFIED
20 Françesko SENIOR 1,280 ✓ QUALIFIED
21 ExploitCartel SENIOR 1,280 ✓ QUALIFIED
22 ayget JUNIOR 1,073 ✓ QUALIFIED
23 a mimir SENIOR 1,064 ✓ QUALIFIED
24 0xIllyrian JUNIOR 839 ✓ QUALIFIED
25 Edsger W. Dijkstra JUNIOR 641 ✓ QUALIFIED
26 cllevio SENIOR 628 ✓ QUALIFIED
27 Outis JUNIOR 628 ✓ QUALIFIED
28 bubabyte SENIOR 444 ✓ QUALIFIED
29 xk0day JUNIOR 425 ✓ QUALIFIED
30 MrxF1y SENIOR 423 ✓ QUALIFIED

All 30 qualifiers will be contacted by the AKSK team with instructions for Phase 2. The internal selection will determine the Final 10 (5 Juniors + 5 Seniors) who will represent Albania at ECSC 2026 in Bochum, Germany.

🇩🇪 GERMANY
SPECIAL THANKS

Thank You, German Partners

A sincere thank you to the BSI (Federal Office for Information Security) and the entire CSCG team from Germany for generously providing their world-class platform for Albania's national online qualification. Their commitment to fostering European cybersecurity talent made this qualifying campaign possible. Albania is proud to be part of this community.

ecsc2026.de

ECSC 2026 :: THE DESTINATION

Where the top qualifiers will compete — five days in Bochum, Germany.

VENUE

Bochum, Germany

Located in the heart of Germany's Ruhr region, Bochum combines rich industrial heritage with cutting-edge academic research — home to one of Europe's leading cybersecurity research centers.

RuhrCongress Bochum
12–16 October 2026
~1,450 km from Tirana ✈
🇦🇱
Tirana Albania
🇩🇪
Bochum Germany
ECSC 2026 SCHEDULE
01
DAY_01

Arrival & Setup

Team registration, environment setup, opening ceremony. Meet teams from 35+ countries.

12 OCT 2026
02
DAY_02

Jeopardy CTF

Individual CTF challenges across all categories: web, crypto, pwn, reverse engineering, forensics.

13 OCT 2026
03
DAY_03

TBA

Details to be announced. Stay tuned for updates.

14 OCT 2026
04
DAY_04

Attack-Defense

Real-time team vs. team exploitation & defense. Protect your services, exploit theirs.

15 OCT 2026
05
DAY_05

Finals & Awards

Final standings, awards ceremony, closing event and celebrations.

16 OCT 2026

HALL OF FAME

ECSC history — twelve years of European cybersecurity excellence.

# YEAR CITY HOST WINNER STATUS
0002014FürstenfeldAustriaAustriaFINISHED
0012015LuzernSwitzerlandAustriaFINISHED
0022016DüsseldorfGermanySpainFINISHED
0032017MálagaSpainSpainFINISHED
0042018LondonUnited KingdomGermanyFINISHED
0052019BucharestRomaniaRomaniaFINISHED
0062021PragueCzech RepublicGermanyFINISHED
0072022ViennaAustriaDenmarkFINISHED
0082023HamarNorwayGermanyFINISHED
0092024TurinItalyGermanyFINISHED
0102025WarsawPolandItalyFINISHED
011 2026 Bochum Germany PENDING ACTIVE

CONTACT

Questions about the selection process? Interested in partnering or collaborating? Get in touch.

contact.sh
# ECSC 2026 — Albania Selection Process
$ echo $CONTACT
events@aksk.gov.al
$ █

Official ECSC

ecsc.eu

ECSC 2026 Host

ecsc2026.de