Small Team. Big Impact: How TechSquad Ranked 36th Out of 795 in the Global Hack The Box CTF 2025
Few weeks back, during the Memorial weekend while most were unplugging, our team plugged in deep into the heart of one of the most ambitious cybersecurity competitions of the year:
Hack The Box’s Global Cyber Skills Benchmark CTF 2025, also known by its chilling theme Operation Blackout.
What Is HTB Operation Blackout?
HTB Operation Blackout is a high-stakes, gamified cybersecurity simulation hosted by Hack The Box. It immerses participants in a fictional geopolitical crisis, challenging them to defend against real-world cyber threats. This competition features large tech giants including Meta, Google, Cisco etc. But beyond the thrill of the challenge, it offers something even more valuable to businesses: a chance to build trust and credibility
🧩 Why is it so important?
Operation Blackout wasn’t a typical CTF.
It featured:
Real-world attack simulations using modern-day tactics
FullPwn Active Directory environments mimicking enterprise infrastructures
Gamified upskilling that tested both technical prowess and teamwork under pressure
From Reverse Engineering to Web Exploitation, OSINT, Crypto, and Binary Analysis, each challenge delivered brutal but rewarding lessons in cyber resilience.
And we didn’t just play – we placed.
🌍 Global Rankings Are In
⚡️ TechSquad Inc. ranked 36th out of 795 global teams
🧑💻 Competing against 4,549 cybersecurity professionals—including Google, Meta, and Microsoft teams
Our small but mighty squad battled through it all sleep deprivation, back-to-back puzzles, and the ever-present ticking clock—to prove that we don’t just build secure systems; we defend them under fire.
💬 Final Word from TechSquad
To all our employees, interns, and friends who gave their time this weekend you were phenomenal. This win is yours.
Stay protected with TechSquad!
TechSquad Daniel
