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USDOT Tier 1 UTC Transportation Cybersecurity Center for Advanced Research and Education (CYBER-CARE)

THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION CYBERSECURITY COMPETITION (NTCC) 2026   

March 15, 2026 to May 15, 2026 

CYBER-CARE CHALLENGE 2026: SECURING THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION

OVERVIEW

Join the 2nd National Transportation Cybersecurity Competition 2026 organized by the CYBER-CARE Center !!

Welcome to the CYBER-CARE Competition 2026, where students and cybersecurity enthusiasts tackle real-world challenges in transportation security through collaboration, innovation, and hands-on experience.

Who Can Participate?

Eligibility: 

  • Open to all high school and university students across the USA.
  • Participants must use a valid university or school email.
  • Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible.
                                                            

Team Size:

  • Register individually or in teams of up to 4 members.
  • Each student can join only one team.
  • Each team is recommended to have a teacher or faculty advisor but it's optional.

EVENT TIMELINE

●    Competition Start Date: March 15, 2026
●    Competition End Date: May 15, 2026

COMPETITION SCOPE

Participants will face a series of cybersecurity challenges, including:

●    SQL Injection Exploitation in a Railway Ticketing System.
●    Automotive CAN Bus Data Decoding and Intrusion Analysis.
●    ADS-B Spoofing Detection Challenge.
●    Air Traffic Control (ATC) Communication and Voice Cloning.

REGISTRATION GUIDELINES

Participants must register using their official school or university email address and provide one Correspondence Email Address, as all further communication will be sent to this address.
Once registrations are received, the competition form link will be shared via email to the registered correspondence address.

 Registration Link 

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

   
●   Dr. Lu Gao: University of Houston
●   Dr. Jack Zhang: University of Houston
●   Dr. Yongxin Liu: Embry-Riddle Aero. University
●   Dr. Richard Li: University of Cincinnati
●   Dr. Tanvir Arafin: George Mason University

STUDENT COMMITTEE MEMBER

●   Tejaswini Sanjay Katale, University of Houston
●   DevikaPriyanka Kadupu, University of Houston
●   Yuhao Wang, University of Houston

LEADERBOARD RESULTS


Participation certificates will be provided to all registered participants who complete the competition tasks.
The top teams will be announced on the leaderboard based on their performance.
In the event of a tie, the team that submits their answer first will be ranked higher.
 
For any additional questions or clarifications, please contact: