Participating in the Huntress Capture The Flag (CTF) competition for the second year in a row has once again proven to be an incredible experience — equal parts humbling, challenging, and rewarding. Last year, I documented my journey in a few detailed articles, including A Journey into Cybersecurity Puzzles, along with two specific write-ups: CTF Write-Up: Stack It and CTF Write-Up: No Need for Brutus.

This year, I decided to approach things differently — focusing less on write-ups and more on reflection: what I learned, what stood out, and why the Huntress CTF continues to be one of the most engaging cybersecurity events for both beginners and professionals alike.

The Challenge of 2025

The 2025 Huntress CTF was the biggest yet — with over 9,700 participants and 6,800 teams from around the world. Running throughout October, it offered a diverse mix of challenges spanning reverse engineering, malware analysis, binary exploitation, digital forensics, and OSINT. I competed under the handle KnightWhoCodesNi, finishing 466th out of 6,869 teams — marking another rewarding year of growth and discovery.

Highlights from This Year’s CTF

The 2025 Huntress CTF once again delivered an incredible range of challenges — each one thoughtfully designed to test different aspects of cybersecurity knowledge. From reverse engineering and digital forensics to OSINT and blue-team detection logic, the competition offered a mix that kept me engaged from start to finish.

What stood out most this year was the creativity and depth behind each challenge. Many blended technical skill with storytelling, requiring not just tools or code, but strategy, persistence, and a willingness to see problems from new angles. Each solved flag felt earned — not because of luck, but through patience and deliberate thinking.

The CTF also reinforced how much there is still to learn. Even after years in cybersecurity, it’s humbling to face challenges that push you beyond your comfort zone. That’s part of what makes the Huntress CTF so rewarding — it’s not just a test of skill, but a reminder that curiosity and adaptability define what it means to be a true security professional.

Reflections and Takeaways

This year, I approached challenges more strategically — spending more time analyzing before executing, automating tasks with Python, and reusing techniques I’d refined from last year.

CTFs like this aren’t just about solving puzzles — they’re about building intuition. Each challenge hones skills in pattern recognition, malware behavior, scripting, and even collaboration. The experience translates directly to real-world cybersecurity work, making it one of the best forms of continuous learning available today.

A Growing Community

The Huntress CTF community continues to impress me. Between the active Discord discussions, hints shared in good faith, and the creative write-ups that follow each event, it’s clear this competition fosters growth for everyone involved. Whether you’re new to cybersecurity or a seasoned professional, you’ll always find something new to learn — often from others’ perspectives as much as your own.

Closing Thoughts

Participating for the second year reaffirmed why I love CTFs — they challenge, educate, and connect people who share a passion for cybersecurity. I plan to continue sharing insights, lessons, and maybe a few in-depth write-ups in the months ahead.

To the Huntress team and community — thank you once again for putting together another year of incredible challenges, and congratulations to everyone who participated. Whether you solved one challenge or all of them, you contributed to what makes this event special: curiosity, perseverance, and community.

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