OFFENSIVE CORE
CTF
Jeopardy-style overnight challenge lanes across web, pwn, crypto, forensics, misc, and OSINT.
National Workshop on System Security
From vulnerabilities to trustworthy systems
DEFCON pace. University discipline. National signal.
A 3-day cyber operations environment for offensive security, system design, and technical credibility under real constraints.
Date
19-21 APR 2026
Venue
VIT-AP UNIVERSITY
Participants
600+ OPERATORS
Duration
72 HOURS
COMMAND CENTER // 2026
RECON
RECON2026
National cyber event for red-teamers, systems engineers, reverse analysts, and builders who can operate under pressure.
Mission Meta
600+ participants. 2 overnight competitions. One national signal.
Recon runs like a tactical dashboard, not a generic fest. Every zone is owned, every challenge is scoped, every escalation path is documented.
SAC + distributed campus zones, with flagship operations staged for high throughput and low chaos.
Participants
0+
National systems security turnout
Side Events
0+
Villages, labs, and off-axis briefs
Night Competitions
0
CTF and KOTH under live ops pressure
Event Scale
0L
INR operating envelope
Why Participate
Tactical mission cards for operators who want more than stage selfies and empty sponsor booths.
Recon is built to feel like a live systems-security exercise: controlled infra, sharp briefings, real competition cadence, and meaningful sponsor access.
LIVE FIRE
KOTH
Target-box domination with hold intervals, resets, anti-cheat telemetry, and blue-red tactical pressure.
MODEL SECURITY
AI Red Team Lab
Prompt injection, jailbreak defense, exploit chains, and mitigation notes inside constrained model sandboxes.
ANALYST DRILL
Forensics Sprint
Fast memory, PCAP, log-triage, and stego mini-cases for responders who prefer proof over noise.
INVESTIGATION
OSINT Corner
Synthetic personas, metadata trails, and timed inference challenges. No shortcuts, no real-world collateral.
PHYSICAL SYSTEMS
Hardware Village
Badge hacking, firmware basics, and solder-backed experimentation in a controlled equipment zone.
TALENT PIPELINE
Sponsor Career Clinic
Resume triage, portfolio reviews, mock interviews, and direct signals from high-performing builders.
Event Tracks
Every zone reads like a mission board, not a brochure.
HackByte’s stacked pacing is reinterpreted here as a cyber-ops grid: denser telemetry, harder cards, sharper glows, and a more militant visual rhythm.
Web Exploit Dojo
Guided vulnerable-app labs with beginner and advanced lanes.
AI Red Team
Hands-on model abuse, guardrail tests, and defense writeups.
Forensics
Logs, memory dumps, and PCAP triage under time pressure.
KOTH
Host ownership, persistence, and scoreboard warfare across isolated targets.
IoT Security
Badge labs, firmware review, default creds, and device hardening drills.
OSINT
Metadata extraction, graph reasoning, and inference chains with legal guardrails.
Schedule Preview
Mission briefing timeline. Clean handoffs. Zero dead air.
Day-level pacing is shaped for flow control: talks up front, villages distributed, overnight flagships isolated, and final debriefs after validation.
DAY 01
Threat Model Alignment
Workshop open, keynote blocks live, side villages activated, overnight CTF armed at 18:00.
0900 // registration, QR issuance, zone deployment
1100 // keynote and systems security workshop
1400 // villages open: web exploit dojo, hardware, OSINT, forensics
1800 // CTF briefing and overnight challenge launch
DAY 02
Escalation Window
Career clinic, sponsor activations, live queues, and KOTH staging under command supervision.
1000 // sponsor clinic, AI red-team lab, forensic sprints
1400 // command staff talks and tactical demos
2130 // KOTH briefing, target windows frozen
2200 // overnight KOTH begins
DAY 03
Closeout and Debrief
Final scores, awards, postmortem, and partner visibility locked into the final broadcast.
0600 // KOTH ends, validation and anti-cheat review
1000 // finalist acknowledgements and sponsor recap
1400 // awards, documentation handoff, and command debrief
1600 // site shutdown and team offboarding
Sponsors + Partners
Partner visibility integrated into the tactical system, not bolted on.
Sponsor activations are challenge-backed and recruiting-oriented. The full sponsorship copy and structure lives on the dedicated partners route with unchanged content.
Open Partners Page
Speakers / Organizers
Command staff layout sourced from Event HQ.
The event is structured like an operations team, with role ownership and backup coverage rather than vague committee blur.
Event Director
Rikhil Nellimarla
Mission owner and escalation point
Chief Technical Officer
Abhiram Venkat Sai Adabala
Platform integrity and infra oversight
Operations Chief
Mohammed Faariz, Cheppali Chanu
Field movement, crowd control, incident flow
CTF / KOTH Competition Director
Vikhyat Shajee Nambiar, Swarnim Bandekar
Rules, challenge windows, adjudication
Program and Speakers Lead
Aditya J Shettigar, Akshat Abhishek Singh
Briefings, speaker blocks, main-stage timing
Sponsorship and Partnerships Lead
Ayushi
Sponsor activations, partner logistics, ROI
Design, Media, and Broadcast Lead
Jahnvi Kotangale
Visual system, screens, and media coverage
Volunteer and Logistics Lead
Reet Mishra, A. Dharineesh
Shift assignments, help desks, physical flow
FAQ
Questions answered before they turn into friction.
Is Recon a hackathon?Open
No. Recon is a national systems security event with workshop blocks, offensive-security competitions, side villages, and sponsor activations built around real cybersecurity practice.
Will offensive security challenges touch live campus systems?Open
Never. All exploit and target activities are sandboxed, explicitly scoped, and isolated from university infrastructure and public targets.
Who should register?Open
Security engineers, red-teamers, systems builders, students aiming for offensive security roles, and technical communities that want a serious competitive environment.
Can beginners attend?Open
Yes. The site is designed with guided lanes such as the Web Exploit Dojo, OSINT Corner, Forensics Sprint, and Career Clinic so new entrants can learn without diluting the high bar.
How are teams handled?Open
The CTF supports solo or teams of up to four. Other villages vary by ruleset, and operator identities are tied to registration for queueing, anti-cheat, and scoring.
How do partners participate?Open
Partners activate through challenge-backed demos, career clinics, booths, technical talks, and measurable recruiting touchpoints. The full details live on the partners route.