$ ./boot --env=academy
[ OK ] Loading exploit modules...
[ OK ] Connecting to lab clusters...
[ OK ] Initialising CTF engine...
$ ready.
0

Elite Hacking Academy

CIPHER

Break things. Learn everything.

Elite hacking bootcamp & live CTF arena for the next generation of security engineers.

start hacking view curriculum
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philosophy

Real skills aren't taught.
They're exploited.

Cipher doesn't hand you a textbook — it hands you a shell. Every module is a live target: a misconfigured box, a leaky API, a binary waiting to fall. You learn by breaking, rebuilding, and breaking again. No theory without teeth.

2,847
graduates placed
91%
hired in 90 days
14,200+
flags captured

The curriculum

Three tracks. One mission.

Pick your entry point. Rotate through all three. Graduate as a full-spectrum operator.

WEB
Web Exploitation
  • SQLi & NoSQLi
  • XSS & CSRF
  • SSRF & XXE
  • OAuth breaks
  • Auth bypass
  • GraphQL attacks
12 modules · 40+ live targets
PWN
Binary Exploitation
  • Buffer overflows
  • ROP chains
  • Heap feng shui
  • Shellcoding
  • Format strings
  • Kernel basics
10 modules · 30+ ELFs
NET
Network & Crypto
  • Packet capture
  • Protocol fuzzing
  • TLS stripping
  • RSA & ECC attacks
  • Side channels
  • Wi-Fi pentest
9 modules · 3 lab networks
Cipher runs a live CTF season every quarter — all students get access. Top finishers get flagged to partner companies for direct interviews.

choose your vector

Three ways in.

Bootcamp
12-week intensive
Bootcamp
Full-time immersive. 480 hours of hands-on exploitation across all three tracks. Instructor-led labs, peer red-teaming, and a live final CTF.
$4,800
apply now
CTF Arena
Always-on
CTF Arena
Perpetual challenges. New flags drop every week. Ranked leaderboard. Cloud-deployed targets — no local setup, just connect and pwn.
$49/mo
join the arena
Enterprise
Private cohorts
Enterprise
Custom curriculum mapped to your team's threat model. Private lab environment. Scenario-based red-team exercises. Quarterly assessment.
custom
get a quote

Ctf archive

Recent challenges

JWT.pain WEB · Medium JWT.pain
ret2libc-2049 PWN · Hard ret2libc-2049
CurveBreaker CRYPTO · Expert CurveBreaker
GraphQL.exe WEB · Hard GraphQL.exe
HeapRush PWN · Medium HeapRush
WrongNonce CRYPTO · Medium WrongNonce
SSRF.chain WEB · Easy SSRF.chain
KernelBait PWN · Expert KernelBait

graduate proof

Alumni outcomes.

0
graduates
0%
placed in 90 days
0+
flags captured
0
partner companies

Cipher's binary track rewired how I think about software. I landed a bug bounty of $22k three weeks after graduating.

Mia Kovacs
Mia Kovacs
Security Researcher · HackerOne

The CTF arena is addictive. Every flag is a dopamine hit. The web track alone made me a better developer AND a better attacker.

Dami Oyelaran
Dami Oyelaran
Pentest Engineer · CrowdStrike

Ran a private cohort for my team — Cipher mapped the curriculum to our exact stack. Zero fluff. Pure reps on real targets.

Sarah Chen
Sarah Chen
Head of AppSec · Atlassian

I went from "what's a buffer overflow" to full ROP chain in 8 weeks. The instructors are practising hackers — not academics.

Bram de Vries
Bram de Vries
Red Team Lead · ING Bank

Competed in my first CTF 3 weeks into the bootcamp. Finished top 10. That's what live targets do for you — nothing else comes close.

Priya Nair
Priya Nair
Vulnerability Analyst · Telstra

enlist

Ready to
break in?

Next cohort starts July 14. 24 seats. Applications close when they're full — not on a date.

start hacking
ops@cipher.academy discord.gg/cipher Remote-first · Lab clusters in Sydney, Singapore, Berlin