If We Want More Cybersecurity Experts, We Must Make CTF Competitions an Official eSport

In the early 2000s, South Korean cable networks began broadcasting StarCraft tournaments. By 2004, these events were drawing crowds of over 100,000.

In 2011, Valve launched “The International” Dota 2 tournament with a $1.6 million prize pool. By 2021, that figure had grown to $40 million.

And in 2018, Blizzard launched the Overwatch League, modeled after traditional sports like the NFL: salaried players, team benefits, home-and-away games, and multi-million-dollar franchise slots.

Today, esports are bigger than ever. The 2025 Esports World Cup offered over $70 million in prize money. Nearly a million viewers watched the IEM Katowice tournament. And on March 3, Steam broke its own record with 40 million users online.

I see the echoes of this global phenomenon here in Kyiv, where NAVI team owner Maksym Kryppa recently acquired the iconic Hotel Ukraina, and a giant ad for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl crowns one of the city’s tallest business centers – also his.

Esports showed us how niche skills can become global and profitable entertainment, and it seems that cybersecurity needs a similar leap. But the stakes are even higher, and we don’t have 25 years.

Why Capture the Flag Competitions

When it comes to testing real-world cybersecurity skills, no format is as effective as Capture the Flag competitions.

Certifications often lack hands-on application. Labs and exercises only simulate threats in controlled environments. Red and blue team exercises focus on either offense or defense, not both.

CTFs go further as they immerse participants in realistic, time-bound challenges across ethical hacking, cryptography, digital forensics, and reverse engineering — skills essential for defending real infrastructure. This format builds technical skills along with critical thinking, teamwork, and adaptability. Like in esports, players must act quickly, identify vulnerabilities, and develop innovative solutions under pressure.

CTF events are in no shortage: there’s picoCTF, ECSC, ICC, and many others.

What’s missing is the presentation. These competitions offer the thrill and tension of traditional sports but lack the cameras, commentary, and storytelling that attract wider audiences.

With better production and promotion, CTFs could become exciting to watch, appealing to enter, and worthwhile to sponsor.

In 2023, the global shortage of cybersecurity professionals reached nearly 4 million. According to the State Service of Special Communications, Ukraine’s deficit could be as high as 100,000. I believe that in order to close the widening global talent gap in cybersecurity, the effort must include the next generation. Yes, youth-focused CTFs do exist, but they rarely get the spotlight.

At the beginning of May, my team along with state partners held Cyber Hive as a part of Infosec Ukraine 2025. This is an initiative powered by the Kyiv International Cyber Resilience Forum, designed to inspire and empower the next generation of Ukrainian cybersecurity leaders. I see that Ukraine has already got talents and this is our responsibility to support the youth and bring the sense that cybersecurity can be exciting, meaningful, and worth chasing.

How to Raise Cybersecurity’s New Stars

That’s the nickname of Oleksandr Kostyliev, the Ukrainian Counter-Strike 2 champion with millions of fans. That success came not only from his skill but also from the public competitions that gave him a stage.

We need similar stages in cybersecurity to attract more talent and show what success looks like. We need to highlight existing stars, celebrate their work, and give newcomers opportunities to grow, compete, and be seen.

Countries like Israel, Estonia, and the U.S. already include cybersecurity competitions in their education and defense pipelines. But the pace of training remains slow, while the threats grow faster.

The war forces Ukraine to act quickly. In February 2025, the Ministry of Youth and Sports officially recognized “military-technology sport” as a new non-Olympic discipline. CTF competitions are now part of the national sports framework. This is a global first.

But the next step belongs to us: founders, organizers, business leaders. We must turn cybersecurity from a backstage skill into a mainstage phenomenon.

If We Want More Defenders, We Need to Cooperate

In recent months, Ukraine has faced a growing number of cyber incidents, mirroring a global trend where cybercrime is projected to cost over $10.5 trillion annually and high-profile incidents now disrupt everything from hospitals to transport systems. These attacks show how quickly the threat landscape is changing and how urgently we need to prepare a new wave of skilled defenders.

Capture the Flag competitions already offer an effective way to build real-world cybersecurity skills, but their impact remains limited without broader recognition, visibility, and support. Elevating CTFs to the level of an official eSport is a strategic move that can turn talent development into a national and global priority. This requires sustained cooperation between businesses, educational institutions, and governments to provide resources, integrate competitions into learning pathways, and bring these events into the public spotlight.

I truly believe that if we commit collectively, we can reshape the cybersecurity landscape and build a safer, more resilient digital world for everyone.