UMD CSEC

University of Maryland Cybersecurity Club. Passionate students with a love for cybersecurity - lectures, workshops, and CTF competitions.

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About

Our Mission

Building the cybersecurity community at the University of Maryland.

University of Maryland Cybersecurity Club

We are a group of passionate students with a love for cybersecurity. We regularly host a variety of technical and non-technical talks, hands-on workshops, and participate in cybersecurity capture the flag (CTF) competitions. In addition, we organize an annual competition, UMDCTF.

Educate

We provide weekly lectures and workshops that cover the full spectrum of cybersecurity - from beginner-friendly intros to advanced exploitation techniques. No prior experience required.

Compete

Our CTF team competes every weekend in jeopardy-style competitions. We also send teams to CCDC, a premier collegiate attack-defense competition simulating real enterprise networks.

Connect

Connect with industry sponsors, attend career events, and join a vibrant Discord community. CSEC is where students build lasting relationships and launch cybersecurity careers.

Where Cybersecurity Starts

Every week, students pack our lecture halls to learn, share, and grow together. From first-time hackers to seasoned CTF competitors, CSEC is the home for anyone curious about cybersecurity.

Hands-on workshops every week
All skill levels welcome
Active community

UMDCTF

Every spring, we host UMDCTF, our Capture the Flag cybersecurity competition. Challenges are written by members of the club, and the event runs for 48 hours, starting Friday night. Held online, UMDCTF 2026 drew over 1,000 competitors from more than 50 countries and earned a CTFtime weight of 85.48, our highest yet. Be on the lookout for UMDCTF 2027!

Leadership

The team behind UMDCSEC

Santiago Castro-Luna

President

Michael Sinai

Treasurer

Allison Yu

Junior Treasurer / Outreach Coordinator

Christian Lee

Systems Admin / Lab Lead

Abhi Gone

Secretary

View Former Officers

Blog

From the CSEC Blog

Updates, recaps, and write-ups from the club.

Most Recent Posts

April 2, 2026

Anonymous Communications

Anonymous communication systems - anonymity properties, mix networks, and a deep comparison of Tor and I2P against passive and active adversaries.

March 26, 2026

Wireshark 101

Network protocol analysis with Wireshark - the OSI model, common protocols, and capturing and filtering live traffic with hands-on challenges.

March 5, 2026

Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering fundamentals - binary formats, x86 assembly, IDA Pro workflows, and static analysis techniques.

View All

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question about UMDCSEC? Find the answers to our most common questions below.

You can join the club by visiting our TerpLink page. It includes an invite to our Discord channel, where most of our communication occurs.

Nope! Everyone is welcome to our meetings and you are free to pick and choose which ones you come to!

Absolutely none! We are open to students from all disciplines and status at UMD. We are here to learn from one another and have a good time!

Meetings will be held on Thursdays from 5-7 in PHYS4311 (ACES North) unless otherwise specified. We will have both lectures and workshops for you to participate and get hands-on experience with. Be sure to pay attention to the Discord for all updates.

Yes, all meetings are in-person, but you can also join online. We do post our slides on Discord, so if you are unable to attend a meeting, don't worry. All the resources will be on Discord.

Every weekend, members of the club participate in jeopardy-style CTF competitions. Every year we compete in CCDC, which is a collegiate attack-defense competition.