Cyber Fire Puzzles 2026
We are excited to announce that Cyber Fire Puzzles is coming back to Auburn this August! Join EHC and Los Alamos National Laboratory for a weekend of competition, learning, and free food — August 21st through 23rd.
What is Cyber Fire Puzzles?
Created by the U.S. Department of Energy and Los Alamos National Laboratory, Cyber Fire Puzzles is a hands-on competition built around math and computer science problems — think number sequences, base conversion, network forensics, and reverse engineering. Each category starts easy and gets harder as you go, so you’re always learning, not just grinding through problems you already know.
This year, LANL will be running educational sessions on digital forensics, so you’ll walk away with real skills on top of the competition experience.
Who Can Participate?
Any student. You do not need to be a CS major, and you do not need prior cybersecurity experience. If you’re a freshman who just heard the word “CTF” for the first time, this event was built with you in mind. If you’re a senior who competes regularly, you’ll still find plenty to chew on.
Teams are encouraged but not required. If you don’t have one, we’ll help you find people to compete with.
When and Where?
August 21st – 23rd
- Friday, August 21st: Evening kick-off at 6:00 PM + dinner
- Saturday, August 22nd: Full day of competition + LANL forensics sessions, meals provided
- Sunday, August 23rd: Final day of competition, meals provided
Location: Brown-Kopel Engineering Student Achievement Center
What Meals Are Included?
Your registration covers:
- Friday: Dinner (provided by AU-CAICE)
- Saturday: Lunch, Dinner & Snacks
- Sunday: Lunch & Snacks
How Much Does It Cost?
| General | EHC Member | |
|---|---|---|
| Early Bird (by Aug 19 at noon) | $30 | $25 |
| Regular | $35 | $30 |
What You Need
Participants should bring a laptop capable of running a virtual machine. VMware Workstation Pro is the recommended hypervisor — it’s free for personal use. VirtualBox is also acceptable if you already have it set up.
If you’re not sure how to get VMware Workstation Pro, it is available at no cost from Broadcom.
How Do I Register?
Fill out the form below so we can get an accurate head count for meals.
We hope to see you there!
Itinerary
Schedule is tentative and subject to change.
Friday, August 21st
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 6:00 – 6:30 PM | Dinner (provided by AU-CAICE) |
| 6:30 – 7:00 PM | LANL Cyber Overview — Mission, Careers & Internships |
| 7:00 – 8:00 PM | Introduction to Tools |
Saturday, August 22nd
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Digital Forensics Sessions |
| 12:00 – 1:00 PM | Lunch |
| 1:00 PM | Puzzles Open |
| 1:00 – 6:00 PM | Digital Forensics Sessions |
| 6:00 PM | Dinner |
| 9:00 PM | Venue Closes (puzzles remain open overnight) |
Sunday, August 23rd
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 10:00 AM | Venue Opens |
| 12:00 – 1:00 PM | Lunch |
| 4:45 PM | Puzzle Scoring Closes |
| 4:50 – 5:00 PM | Winner Announcements |
| 5:00 PM | Venue Closes |
| 5:00 PM+ | Puzzles reopen for fun |
How Do I Become an EHC Member?
EHC membership is open to Auburn University students. Joining gets you $5 off registration — and supports the club. You can join through AU Involve. Dues are $10, paid via the same Venmo account listed in the registration form. When sending payment, include your full name in the memo — “EHC Dues - First Last” — so we can attribute it correctly.
Acknowledgement
Special thanks to Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Engineering (AU-CAICE), and Dr. Tauritz, Director of National Laboratory Relations at Auburn University, for helping make this event possible!