On April 8, 2024, the Ala-Too International University (AIU) hosted the “Ala-Too CTF 2024” Cybersecurity Olympiad among students in grades 10-11 in Bishkek.

The Olympiad was organized by the Faculty of Engineering and Informatics of the AIU in cooperation with the University's Cybersecurity Center.

The Olympiad “Ala-Too CTF 2024” was held in two rounds. The first qualifying round was held online. Participants were given 48 hours to solve problems in the Jeopardy format, which is a digital task divided into categories in the field of cryptography, web security, OSINT, network security, reverse engineering, etc. According to the results of the points scored, the first 25 people advanced to the next round.

The next stage consisted of two parts: the first part was devoted to solving problems, the second part was a team quest for additional points, which lasted for three hours.

According to the results of the points scored, the winners and prize-winners were determined:

• 1st place: Myrza Bapayev, 2nd year student of SCA (Programming), IT & Business College of AIU
• 2nd place: Aidarbek Kachiev, 1st year student of SCA (Programming), IT & Business College of AIU
• 3rd place: Bekzat Bakytbek uulu, 2nd year of SCA (Programming), IT & Business College of AIU

“The Cybersecurity Olympiad is one of the first events held among schoolchildren in Kyrgyzstan. Over 50 Bishkek schoolchildren, including those from Osh, participated in the online tour. The tasks included the field of cryptography, programming, skills of intercepting network packets, searching for information in closed sources, and others that were performed at speed. The participants' possession of a wide range of such skills gives them a great advantage in finding employment in large IT companies. The purpose of the Olympiad is to attract students' interest in cybersecurity and information technology, as well as to identify and develop their talents in this field,” said Ruslan Isaev, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Informatics of the AIU.

According to the coordinator of the Cybersecurity Center, Ruslan Amanov, the mission of the Olympiad is to popularize the field of “cybersecurity” among high school students, organize additional training in a certain area to improve students' knowledge, interest in a possible future profession, as well as stimulate the desire to study additional topics. 

“We express our deep gratitude to the partners of the Olympiad for their contribution to the future generation of cybersecurity specialists. We hope that we will hold the next Olympiad on a larger scale, covering participants from all over Kyrgyzstan.”- Ruslan Amanov added.

The Cybersecurity Olympiad was held with the information support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic and the financial support of the Green Light LLC. 

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