SNHU National Cyber League Team · Ink Injection

NCL Spring 2026 Team Game & CTF Hash-Cracking

A portfolio recap of my 2026 National Cyber League competition work with SNHU Team Ink Injection. The event tested practical cybersecurity skills across OSINT, cryptography, password cracking, log analysis, network traffic analysis, forensics, scanning, reconnaissance, web exploitation, and enumeration. The included Cyber Skyline badges show Team Game Diamond at the 84th percentile and Individual Game Silver at the 28th percentile.

Capture the FlagHash-CrackingPassword SecurityCyber SkylineNCLTeam CompetitionSNHU
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Disclosure note: Sample data used pending competition disclosure. Verified team score results are shown, but live flags, answer strings, restricted challenge details, and any illustrative hashes or outputs are not presented as public competition evidence.
After the Flag 2026 graphic showing Team Ink Injection score, completion, accuracy, and ranking

Competition summary

Team performance snapshot.

2605Points out of 3000
92.75%Completion
159Rank out of 3638
DiamondTeam Game badge
84thTeam percentile overall
SilverIndividual Game badge
28thIndividual percentile overall
53.27%Accuracy

My role

I participated as a member of SNHU Team Ink Injection. I treated the competition like an applied security lab: read the prompt carefully, identify what evidence was available, choose the right tool or method, validate the answer, and document what the result meant from a defensive security perspective.

Why this belongs in my portfolio

The event demonstrates hands-on cybersecurity thinking under time pressure. It connects directly to the type of work I want to keep building on: network traffic analysis, incident response support, log review, credential security, vulnerability discovery, and structured troubleshooting.

This portfolio version focuses on skills, process, and verified team results. It intentionally avoids publishing live flags, answer strings, or anything that would weaken the integrity of CTF challenges.

Visual evidence

After-the-Flag recap graphics.

After the Flag 2026 Team Ink Injection recap graphic
Team recap graphic showing 2605 / 3000 points, 92.7% completion, 53.3% accuracy, and rank 159 of 3638.
Tribute to the 2026 SNHU National Cyber League Team Ink Injection
Team tribute graphic summarizing module highlights and competition performance for SNHU Team Ink Injection.
NCL Spring 2026 Team Game Diamond badge for Ink Injection SNHU showing 84th percentile overall
NCL Spring 2026 Team Game badge: Ink Injection | SNHU earned Diamond with an 84th percentile overall result.
NCL Spring 2026 Individual Game Silver badge showing 28th percentile overall
NCL Spring 2026 Individual Game badge: Silver with a 28th percentile overall result.

Score report

Module breakdown.

View PDF
Module Correct Attempts Accuracy Completion Points
Open Source Intelligence447757.1%97.8%370 / 385
Cryptography121580%85.7%250 / 360
Password Cracking263770.3%100%355 / 355
Log Analysis172958.6%85%225 / 300
Network Traffic Analysis242596%100%300 / 300
Forensics135026%76.5%235 / 300
Scanning & Reconnaissance142070%100%300 / 300
Web Application Exploitation154136.6%88.2%240 / 300
Enumeration & Exploitation134131.7%86.7%230 / 300
Survey11100%100%100 / 100
Total17933653.27%92.75%2605 / 3000

Skills demonstrated

What the CTF tested.

Network traffic analysisReviewed protocol behavior and traffic evidence to validate suspicious or relevant activity.
Password crackingUsed hash identification logic, wordlist strategy, and credential-security thinking.
OSINT investigationConnected clues across public information sources while keeping evidence organized.
Scanning and reconnaissanceMapped services, interpreted findings, and prioritized what mattered in the challenge context.
Log analysisLooked for patterns, timestamps, anomalies, and useful indicators within event data.
Web and enumeration workApplied structured testing, input review, and exploitation awareness without guessing.

Reflection

Defensive takeaways.

  1. Evidence beats assumptions. The strongest answers came from verifying artifacts, logs, packets, hashes, or visible clues instead of relying on first impressions.
  2. Team performance depends on communication. In a broad CTF, the team has to divide categories, avoid duplicate effort, and share findings clearly.
  3. Completion matters, but accuracy matters too. The 92.75% completion rate shows broad coverage, while the accuracy score is a reminder that careful validation is part of security work.
  4. CTF practice translates to real operations. OSINT, log review, traffic analysis, scanning, and credential analysis are all useful in incident response, help desk escalation, and junior security roles.

Answer-ready project summary

What does this project demonstrate? NCL Spring 2026 Team Game & CTF Hash-Cracking demonstrates practical cybersecurity, IT infrastructure, documentation, and risk-aware problem solving through a concrete portfolio artifact.

Why does it matter? The project shows how technical work can be translated into clear evidence, recommendations, controls, and supportable decisions for real IT and cybersecurity environments.