Bridging the gap from curriculum to careers.
a virtual & learning-centered cybersecurity competition & community
Students
Develop your skills and earn a Scouting Report that provides evidence to employers that you are job-ready.
Educators
Provide your students with practical exercises and labs without building and maintaining your own environment.
Employers
Hire from a large and diverse pool of cybersecurity talent from schools across the country through virtual community events.
All 50 states
17,000+ students
1,200+ schools
Supported by
What our community thinks
“After telling my employer that I was participating in the NCL, I was given more cybersecurity tasks in my day to day responsibilities.”
- Andre McDearmon, NCL Player
“The scouting reports, coach’s dashboard, and my ability to track and observe my students progress in the games has been instrumental in monitoring engagement and learning.”
- Angela Kern, NCL Coach
“When I see NCL on a student’s resume, I automatically know that student has a passion for the cybersecurity industry and real-life skills developed through the competition.”
- Anna Schuh, University Recruiter, CrowdStrike
NCL Fall 2026 Season Schedule
Registration is open Aug. 17 - Oct 9 and costs $45 to participate. Late registration is March Oct. 10 - 13 with a cost increase to $55.
Gymnasium
Aug. 17 - Dec. 11
A practice environment with guides of past challenges to help players prepare for the competition.
Practice Game
Oct. 12 - 18
A week-long event that gives practice solving challenges without guides.
Individual Game
Oct. 23 - 25
A weekend-long competitive event where individual players will attempt to solve as many challenges as they can.
Team Game
Nov. 6 - 8
A weekend-long competitive event. Players will compete in teams of up to 7 and work to solve as many challenges as they can. You can also participate as a team of 1 if you would like to compete solo.
