KICRF 2026 to Host AI-Driven Cyber Defense Competition

KYIV, Ukraine – 12 February 2026

Kyiv will host the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, or CCDC, on Feb. 19-20 as part of the Kyiv International Cyber Resilience Forum 2026, bringing together up to 150 participants across 30 teams for a live cyber defense tournament, organizers said. The competition is designed to simulate a full operational cycle of cyber defense in real time, including service continuity, incident response and team coordination under pressure.

CCDC is positioned as an evolution of traditional Capture The Flag competitions, shifting from isolated technical tasks to a production-like environment. Teams will run services while defending their systems and attempting to compromise opponents’ infrastructure, a format meant to mirror how real incidents unfold across networks and organizations.

A defining feature of this year’s tournament is the use of AI agents operating alongside human teams. Organizers said the agents will autonomously analyze vulnerabilities, exploit them and adapt their behavior in real time, simulating an adversary that does not pause, tire or make mistakes.

The scenarios draw on real cyber incidents documented by Ukrainian agencies including CERT-UA and international partners, the organizers said. Ukraine is ranked among the top five global targets of cyberattacks, and the event is framed as a training ground for tactics and techniques already seen in the wild.

CCDC sits inside the invite-only KICRF 2026 forum, which organizers describe as a platform to strengthen cyber resilience for Ukraine and allied nations through international cooperation and the lessons of sustained cyber warfare. The forum was initiated in 2023 by Ukraine’s National Cybersecurity Coordination Center, in partnership with CRDF Global and with support from the U.S. Department of State.

The forum’s published speaker roster includes Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine; Oleksandr Potii, chairman of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine; Oleksandr Fediienko, a member of parliament and head of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity; Pekka Jokinen, deputy director general at Finland’s National Cyber Security Center; Mark Montgomery, senior director at the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, Foundation for Defense of Democracies; and Yegor Aushev, a cybersecurity expert and CEO and co-founder of Cyber Unit Technologies.

The event will run across two days with distinct tracks. Feb. 19 is designated “Zero Day” for technical programming, including workshops, training and cyber competitions, while the main agenda is set for Feb. 20 and includes an official opening and strategic panels, organizers said.

Organizers said the broader program will cover topics including cognitive warfare and foreign information manipulation, AI-native military conflicts, digital sovereignty, supply chain security, critical infrastructure and operational technology security, and quantum challenges. The schedule also includes an international strategic tabletop exercise and a BugBash event for ethical hackers.

An expo will run alongside the forum to facilitate partnerships between Ukrainian and international companies and startups developing cybersecurity, AI and dual-use technologies, the organizers said. The competition will not be livestreamed, and media accreditation is required for on-site reporting.