My Experience Participating in NCL (Spring 2026)
A review of National Cyber League from a students' perspective.
I had participated in National Cyber League along with some of my clubmates at KSU back in mid-April of this year, and to put it straight, it was quite a bit of fun. NCL offers some of the best challenges I have seen in any cybersecurity competition, as you are not limited to a singular topic, and rather it is a test of your capabilities in all different skills. The different categories for this particular season included:
- Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)
- Cryptography
- Password Cracking
- Log Analysis
- Network Traffic Analysis
- Forensics
- Scanning & Reconnaissance
- Web Application Exploitation
- Enumeration & Exploitation
This being said, it can make for a very relentless weekend if you spend it learning a new cyber skill like I did. I was brand new to cryptography and password cracking, and this challenge really pushed me outside of my comfort zone of log analysis. You would be surprised what you are capable of if you give these new challenges an honest shot!
My experience with the individual game was shortened due to family matters arising, which left me with only one day to participate, however for the one day I was able to play, it was rigorous to say the least. These challenges will consume your brain if you have a passion for solving these problems.
The challenge has helped me in more ways than just the experience though; through this challenge I was given an experience to speak about during interviews, and an opportunity to network with other cybersecurity majors at Kennesaw State University. For anyone looking for either an internship or a scholarship that is security related, this is fantastic to bring up. You are actively combining your technical knowledge and co-operating in a team to work for one common goal, something that is the embodiment of what companies are looking for in an intern/scholarship awardee.
By all means, if possible, give this challenge a shot. Really expand your Cybersecurity knowledge through it and give it all you got. You will not be disappointed.