FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS
Concise tactical briefings covering operative squad clearance, schedule, challenge domains, scoring decay mathematics, and prize bounties.
How does Solo (₹49) vs Duo Squad (₹79) participation clearance work?
Account creation and tournament briefings are free. To unlock live challenge instances, submission flags, and scoring telemetry, participants select one of two official clearance tiers:
- • Single independent operative deployment
- • Dedicated individual scoreboard ranking
- • Full unrestricted access to all 7 domains
- • 2 Operatives collaborating under 1 squad callsign
- • One fee covers both team members
- • Synchronized flag submissions and telemetry
Teammates can be invited via your squad invite token until registration closes on 16 October 2026, 11:59 PM IST.
When does BlackOut Sector start, and is it 100% online?
Yes. BlackOut Sector is a 100% online, globally accessible cybersecurity competition running continuously for 50 hours:
Challenge portal keys and on-demand container credentials are automatically delivered to your registered email 6 hours prior to launch.
Which cybersecurity domains and difficulty tracks are included?
Challenges feature two balanced paths — Beginner Track (students and newcomers) and Advanced Track (CTF veterans and researchers) across 7 specialized domains:
Initial point ceilings range from Easy (200–400), Medium (500–750), Hard (800–1000), up to Apex Insane (2000 PTS).
What is the official flag format and how are submissions validated?
All challenge flags adhere to standard case-sensitive casing:
Flags are submitted on the live scoring portal. Incorrect guesses do not incur score deductions, but submissions are rate-limited to 15 attempts/min to prevent brute-forcing.
How does real-time dynamic score decay calculate points?
Dynamic decay prevents easy challenges from skewing the final podium. As more operatives solve a problem, its reward value decreases for everyone:
- 50% Minimum Floor: A challenge never drops below half its initial value.
- Retroactive Parity: When a challenge decays, all previous solvers receive the identical updated score.
What is the First Blood Apex bonus and how are ties resolved?
+10% First Blood Bonus: The pioneer operative or squad to achieve the initial verified solve on any challenge earns an immutable +10% bonus calculated on the launch point ceiling that will never decay.
Timestamp Tie-Breaker: If two squads finish with identical points, ranking priority goes strictly to the operative who achieved the final point score earliest, based on submission server timestamps.
What tools are permitted and what causes instant disqualification?
Authorized Tooling: Operatives may use any standard offensive suites — Burp Suite, Wireshark, Ghidra, IDA Free, pwntools, Radare2, GDB, nmap, sqlmap, and custom Python/Go automation scripts.
Strict Disqualification Triggers:
- Attacking the central scoreboard, database, or Discord (Sanctuary violation).
- Sharing solution logic, flags, or writeups across distinct teams.
- Automated high-volume Denial of Service attacks on challenge instances.
What is the ₹30,000+ bounty pool and do participants receive certificates?
₹30,000+ Bounty Pool: Distributed among the top podium finishers across Solo and Squad tracks. Cash prizes are disbursed within 7 business days following writeup audits.
Cryptographic Certificate: Every operative or duo solving at least one challenge receives a digital CodexSec Certificate of Operational Competence containing a unique SHA-256 validation hash for LinkedIn and resumes.
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Have an operational inquiry regarding registrations, accommodations, or sponsorship? Join our live Discord dispatch or review the official rulebook.