President's Cup Cybersecurity Competition

Let the Games… *cue dial-up Internet sound*… Begin! President’s Cup 5 registration is launching Jan. 3, 2024 - stay tuned for more information.  

Cyber threats across the globe have put into focus our country’s need for cyber talent. CISA leads and hosts the President’s Cup to identify, recognize, and reward the best cyber talent across the federal workforce. Participants are challenged to outthink and outwit their competitors in a series of tests that are based on real-world situations to expand cyber skills.   

Get ready to stretch your cyber skills further than that three-handled controller cord ever reached! 

Want to see what it’s like to participate in the President’s Cup? Federal employees can visit the President’s Cup Practice Area to take on challenges from previous competitions and receive a certificate of completion. Anyone can visit the President’s Cup GitHub page to find descriptions, solution guides, virtual machine builds and other artifacts from challenges featured in previous President’s Cup competitions.

Overview of President's Cup

What is President's Cup?

Established in 2019, by E.O. 13870, “Executive Order on America’s Cybersecurity Workforce”, the President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition is a national cyber event aiming to train and recognize cybersecurity professionals in the federal workforce. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) leads and hosts the President’s Cup as part of their mission to expand the size and capabilities of the U.S. cyber workforce. 

Participants are tested in a range of challenges following the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework, including cyber defense, cyber exploitation, forensics, and more. The NICE framework is the foundation for increasing the size and capability of the U.S. cyber workforce. It provides a common definition of cybersecurity, a comprehensive list of cybersecurity tasks, and the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform those tasks.

How can I participate in President's Cup?

Registration opens Jan. 3, 2024 and will remain open until the final day of Round 1!  

Participation in the President’s Cup is limited to employees of the United States federal government. This includes federal employees and uniformed service personnel from federal civilian agencies, Department of Defense active-duty military personnel, civilians, and those serving in a drilling reserve capacity in the Armed Forces Reserves or National Guard. Government contractors are not permitted to participate.  

Participants can compete as an individual, on a team of up to five members, or both. Teams can be made from individuals from one or more departments or agencies.  

Participants must register using a “.gov/.mil” email address. 

President's Cup Timeline

The fifth President's Cup Cybersecurity Competition launches with registration on Jan. 3, 2024. All future President’s Cup competitions will also start in January. 

The Competition

Tracks: President’s Cup is split between Individuals and Teams and participants can choose to compete in one or both.

• Individuals: Enroll as an individual and compete in one or both of two tracks: Track A (using defensive cyber skills) and Track B (using offensive cyber skills).  
• Teams: Enroll in groups of two to five from across the government and take on challenges drawn from eight in-demand NICE work roles. 

Rounds: The President’s Cup has three rounds between January and April. The first two will take place virtually and participants only need internet access and a web browser to compete. The Finals will be held in person at CISA’s Arlington, Va., facility, from April 15-18, 2024, as conditions allow. The White House Awards Ceremony will occur the week of May 13, 2024.    

• Round 1: Open to the entire federal workforce 
• Round 2:Individuals – Top 100 scores from each track | Teams – Top 33% of scores from Round 1 
• Finals: The top 10 individuals from each track and top five teams from Round 2

President’s Cup Finals: All President’s Cup finalists must attend the Finals in-person at CISA’s facility in Arlington, VA in order to participate.   

Upon receiving notification that they have qualified for the Finals; competitors must notify the President’s Cup team whether they will or will not attend.   

• Individuals must respond by March 8, 2024.  
• Team members must respond by March 22, 2024.  

If finalists are unable to attend, the next highest qualifying individual or team will be invited. Please note that entire teams will not be disqualified from participating in the Finals as long as at least two members attend.  

Session Timer: In the first two rounds, participants have eight days to start their timers and complete as many challenges as possible. The timer starts when the first challenge is launched and cannot be paused. Participants have limited time to compete before the timer stops:  

• Individuals: Four hours
• Teams: Six hours