CISA names 2026 President’s Cup cybersecurity winners

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Monday named the winners of the seventh annual President’s Cup cybersecurity competition, capping a months-long contest that drew more than 800 individual entrants and 200 teams from across the federal workforce.

This year’s field began competing in January during virtual qualifiers, with top performers advancing to finals held in the Washington, D.C., area that concluded in the last week of May. Participants could enter an Individuals Defensive Track, an Individuals Offensive Track, and a Teams category, facing missions that simulated high‑stakes cyber operations and tested endurance, creativity, and technical expertise.

CISA identified the winners by username to protect operational security. The Defensive Track champion is “sheriffsparks” of the U.S. Navy. The Offensive Track champion is “bdubya” of the U.S. Army. The Teams title went to “ENOENTHUSIASM,” a joint squad from the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps.

“The President’s Cup features the best cybersecurity talent the U.S. government has to offer,” said CISA Acting Director Nick Andersen. “These champions rose above an elite field, securing victory through sharp analysis, decisive action, and advanced cyber tradecraft. We congratulate this year’s winners and thank everyone who participated in the seventh annual President’s Cup.”

CISA hosts the annual competition to identify, challenge, and reward top cyber talent across the federal civilian and military ranks. Scenarios range from incident response and digital forensics to reverse engineering and threat hunting, and the event is open to federal civilian employees as well as active duty and reserve service members.

Prospective competitors can practice on prior President’s Cup challenges at PresidentsCup.CISA.gov.