AstralGuard CTF — Terms & Conditions

1. Purpose and Scope

The AstralGuard CTF is a real-world cybersecurity competition consisting of intentionally vulnerable labs, systems, and services hosted on AstralGuard's authorized infrastructure.

All challenges are created for educational and competitive purposes under strict ethical and legal boundaries. Participants are permitted to test, exploit, and solve the challenges only within the provided environment.

2. Eligibility and Registration

Participation is open to registered AstralGuard Cyber Academy students and external cybersecurity enthusiasts.

• Active AstralGuard students participate free of charge.
• Non-students may register upon payment of a UGX 25,000 participation fee (approximately $7.14 USD).
• Non-students who successfully complete all CTF stages ethically and without rule violations will be fully refunded after verification of legitimate completion.
• Active AstralGuard students who complete all stages ethically will receive special recognition or rewards from the Academy.

3. Event Structure and Winning Criteria

The competition consists of multiple technical challenges (labs) that increase in difficulty.

Each challenge represents a real-world cybersecurity scenario, requiring practical skill, precision, and ethical discipline.

• The winner is the participant or team that successfully completes all challenges within the allotted time and maintains full compliance with these Terms.
• In the event of a tie, AstralGuard may use time-to-solve, flag verification logs, and technical accuracy as tiebreakers.
• All results and rulings made by AstralGuard's CTF administrators are final and binding.

4. Code of Conduct and Ethical Expectations

All participants must adhere to the AstralGuard Code of Cyber Ethics:

• Operate strictly within the boundaries of the CTF environment.
• Do not attempt to attack, disrupt, or manipulate the competition platform, backend services, or other participants.
• Maintain respectful behavior toward all players, mentors, and administrators.
• Use only approved tools and techniques that target the designated lab systems.
• Never share or leak challenge solutions, flags, or hints before the official conclusion of the event.
• Do not use the CTF as a platform for personal data collection, social engineering, or unauthorized access attempts.

5. Refund and Reward Policy

• Non-student participants who pass all stages ethically are entitled to a full refund.
• Refunds will be processed only after verification that all flags were captured legitimately without breaking any rules or manipulating the system.
• Verification may include reviewing logs, flag submission history, and session data.
• AstralGuard reserves the right to withhold refunds if ethical or procedural violations are detected.
• AstralGuard students who complete the challenges ethically will receive honorary recognition, certification, or rewards, as determined by the Academy.

6. Security and System Integrity

The CTF infrastructure is hosted and secured by AstralGuard Cyber Academy.

• Any action that threatens platform stability, such as denial-of-service, backend exploitation, or unauthorized system access, is strictly forbidden.
• Participants are expected to demonstrate professional cybersecurity conduct at all times.
• All activity within the CTF infrastructure is monitored and logged for fairness, performance evaluation, and verification.

7. Fair Play and Anti-Cheating Enforcement

• All flags must be obtained through legitimate exploitation of intended vulnerabilities.
• Use of leaked, shared, or brute-forced flags is considered cheating.
• Automated or scripted attacks outside the scope of a challenge may result in disqualification.
• AstralGuard may conduct post-event audits to validate all submissions.
• Decisions by the AstralGuard CTF Committee are final and non-negotiable.

8. Intellectual Property and Confidentiality

• All challenges, systems, flags, and CTF materials are the intellectual property of AstralGuard Cyber Academy.
• Participants may not reproduce, redistribute, or publish any challenge or flag content without written authorization.
• Screenshots, writeups, or walkthroughs may be released only after official approval or once the CTF event has concluded publicly.

9. Privacy and Data Protection

• Participant data (e.g., name, username, scores, and email) may be used for leaderboards, certification, and event analytics.
• AstralGuard Cyber Academy will handle all data in accordance with its Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws.
• Data will not be shared with third parties except when required by law or for official recognition purposes.

10. Liability Disclaimer

• Participation in this event is at your own risk.
• AstralGuard Cyber Academy is not responsible for any system issues, data loss, or damage caused by improper participant actions.
• The Academy provides a secure, isolated environment but assumes no liability for external network or device issues on the participant's side.

11. Event Authority and Termination

• AstralGuard Cyber Academy reserves full authority to suspend, modify, or terminate the event at any time for security, fairness, or operational reasons.
• The Academy maintains the right to review, disqualify, or sanction any participant who violates these Terms.
• Participation in AstralGuard CTF events is a privilege, not a right, and continued involvement requires adherence to all Academy policies.

12. Certification and Recognition

• Participants who demonstrate exceptional skill, ethical integrity, and professionalism may be featured, certified, or recommended by AstralGuard Cyber Academy.
• Certifications and awards are granted solely at the discretion of the Academy's CTF Board.

13. Acceptance of Terms

By participating in the AstralGuard Cyber Academy CTF, you acknowledge that:

• You have read, understood, and accepted these Terms and Conditions.
• You will operate within ethical and legal boundaries at all times.
• AstralGuard Cyber Academy retains full authority over the competition, its rules, and its final decisions.