The FCUP xSTF (Extreme Security Task Force) team ranked among the top 10 European teams and will compete in the CSAW-CTF competition finals on November 6 and 7.
Students from the Faculty of Sciences — Guilherme Coutinho, Diogo Coelho, David Coutinho, and Rafael Castilho — are among the top 10 finalists of the largest academic cybersecurity competition in Europe.
The team from xSTF (Extreme Security Task Force), a student group created ten years ago in the Department of Computer Science to participate in national and international contests, stood out in the qualifying round of the Capture The Flag (CTF) online competition of the CSAW event, finishing 4th in Europe among more than 400 scoring teams.
CSAW CTF is one of the oldest and largest CTF initiatives worldwide. Designed as an introductory Jeopardy-style CTF, the competition targets students entering the field of cybersecurity, as well as advanced students and industry professionals seeking to sharpen their skills and techniques.
CSAW is the world’s most comprehensive student-run cybersecurity event, serving as both a learning platform and an inspiration for cybersecurity students pursuing training and career opportunities.
Between November 6 and 7, the team — consisting of Guilherme, Diogo, and Rafael, from the Master’s in Information Security, and David, from the Bachelor’s in Informatics and Computing Engineering (jointly offered by FCUP and FEUP) — will compete in the CSAW CTF finals, held online over 36 hours.
About xSTF
The xSTF (Extreme Security Task Force) was founded in 2015 in the Department of Computer Science at FCUP, with the support of professors Luís Filipe Antunes and Manuel Eduardo Correia. It operates alongside the Master’s in Information Security as an extracurricular activity.
The team includes students from undergraduate and master’s programs at the DCC. In addition to researching security vulnerabilities, running workshops, and holding training sessions at the University, the team regularly competes in international events.
It is currently led by student Guilherme Coutinho and professor João Resende.
The team ranks within the top 100 worldwide on ctftime.org. Weekly training sessions are open to students from all University of Porto programs.