Michael Cunningham and Evan Lybrand
May 15, 2026
For the fifth consecutive year, Carnegie Mellon University students have claimed first place in the MITRE Embedded Capture the Flag (eCTF) cybersecurity competition, further cementing the university’s status as the top program in one of the nation’s most demanding collegiate security contests.
The 2026 victory extends Carnegie Mellon’s record-setting streak in the competition and underscores the university’s continued leadership in embedded systems security, where students must defend both software and the increasingly complex hardware ecosystems that power modern technology.
This year’s challenge was widely regarded by advisors and competitors as the toughest in the competition’s history.
