What does "Cumulative Time" mean on the leaderboard?

The Cumulative Time column is only used for tiebreaking purposes. When a challenge is started, a timer tracks how long it takes to solve that challenge. The sum time of all successfully solved challenges is posted to the leaderboard under Cumulative Time. Again, this is for tiebreaking purposes only.

I'm a government contractor and I want to participate. Am I eligible?

No. Government contractors cannot participate in the President's Cup.

Will I need any special software or applications to participate in the President's Cup?

No. All that is needed is an up-to-date web browser and your registered account. Supported browsers are: Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

How does each round's continuous session timer work?

A session timer starts when you click the "Start Session" button on a Gameboard's welcome page. After starting the session, you/your team will have a limited amount of time to complete as many challenges as you can.

The session time limits for the President's Cup Competition are:

The session timer runs continuously and cannot be paused. Your round score is determined by the sum of all successful challenges completed during your session.

PLEASE NOTE: For the Teams competition, any team member can start the session.

Does my score carry over from one round to the next?

No. The score for each round starts at zero.

How are ties handled?

In the event of a tiebreaker, the "Cumulative Time" figure will be used to determine who moves on to the Final Round. The Cumulative Time is the total time spent in challenges successfully solved. This is calculated using a timer specific to each challenge on your game board. When you start a challenge, the timer starts. When you successfully solve a challenge, your score and cumulative time are updated.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Your challenge timer does not stop if you "destroy" a challenge space or go work on another challenge. If you start a challenge, then start and work on another challenge, and return to your previous challenge, your challenge timer is still running.
• Time spent in challenges is added to your cumulative time when points are scored. For a challenge in which you score zero (0) points, the time spent attempting that challenge will not be added to your cumulative timer. You won't be penalized for trying!
• Your overall competition time is still capped at the maximum time (6 hours for teams and 4 hours for individuals) from when you launch your first challenge.

I saw that the Finals are an in-person event. Where are the Finals held?

The Finals will be held in the Washington DC metropolitan area. The specific facility is to be decided (TBD), and determination will be made in the coming months. Participants are responsible for travel if they qualify.

I heard about the President's Cup, but it is too late to register. Will there be a future President's Cup Competition?

Yes. The competition is held annually by CISA per Executive Order 13870.

My agency wants to enter two teams in Qualifying Round 1. Is that possible?

Yes. A department or agency can enter more than one team in the competition.

One of my team members dropped out after Qualifying Round 1. Can I replace them with someone else for Round 2?

No. Once a team is established, members cannot be added. You have the option to compete without that team member, provided your team still has at least 2 members.

When does registration for the President's Cup Competition start?

Registration for President's Cup 6 Competition opens on Monday, December 9th and closes on Tuesday, January 14th for Teams and Tuesday, January 28th for Individuals.

You mention that the competition challenges will be mapped to the NICE Framework. Where can I get more information on the NICE Framework?

The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS) provides a comprehensive review of the NICE Framework.

I'm eligible to participate in the President's Cup, but I don't have a team. Can I participate as an individual?

Yes. Participants can compete either as part of a team, as an individual, or both. Round 1 is open to any and all Federal employees and uniformed service members.

I'm a detailee and I want to participate. Which organization do I participate with—my original agency or my detailed agency?

Detailees to a specific agency can participate on a team for their detailed agency or their home agency subject to the approval of both their home agency and detail supervisor, including agreement on which agency will be responsible for awards.

Can I participate on more than one team at a time?

No. You can only be a team member on one team.

What if I can't access my .gov/.mil email?

If you cannot access your .gov/.mil email during registration please contact [email protected] to verify your federal employment.

To use multi-factor authentication without access to your .gov/.mil email, visit your Identity profile and select Configure 2FA. You'll need to be logged in for this, so be sure to do this while you do have access to email.

There you can generate a Time-based One Time Password (TOTP) secret key. Use this secret key with any TOTP-enabled authentication app, such as Duo Mobile or Google Authenticator, by simply scanning the barcode. If you don't have access to your device, copy down the secret key and later input it into the TOTP app on your device.

Can I copy/paste between my host and the gamespace virtual machines?

Yes. The cog button in the upper-left corner of the virtual machine console allows you to move text bidirectionally between your host and that virtual machine.

If I reach my limit of virtual gamespaces (5 for teams, 2 for individuals), can I move on to another challenge?

Yes. If you start a challenge but would like to move on to another challenge without finishing it, you can DESTROY that gamespace. However, the challenge timer will not stop. When you return to this challenge, you can RESTART the gamespace in its original state.

Is partial credit available for challenge submissions?

Yes. All President's Cup challenges have multiple parts which allow competitors to earn partial credit. Each challenge part includes the number of points awarded for providing the correct answer.

PLEASE NOTE: When you click the Submit button, ALL of your answer parts will be sent to the grading server, and you are limited to THREE (3) submissions per challenge. This applies whether or not you leave any answer fields empty.

Is there a recommended format for answer submissions?

Correct answers will vary based on the challenge format and the questions being asked. Please refer to the example answer provided beneath each answer submission form field.

President's Cup Support is asking for my “challenge Support Code”. Where can I find it?

The challenge Support Code can be found in the lower-right corner of the challenge pane. The Support Code looks similar to this: a347c5c6.

How are teams selected to advance to Qualifying Round 2?

The top 33% of teams based on their final scores advance to Qualifying Round 2 as well. No time-based tiebreakers are used to calculate the 33% cutoff, so all teams tied at the score cutoff will advance.

How are individuals selected to advance to Qualifying Round 2?

In the Individuals competition, the top 100 scores in each track advance to Qualifying Round 2. There are no tie-breakers; all tied for 100th place in each track will be invited to continue. Qualifying Round 1 leaderboard scores are used to determine the cutoff line, and no time-based tiebreakers are used in this calculation.

How are teams and individuals selected to advance to the Finals?

The top five (5) teams and top ten (10) individuals in each track will advance to the Finals based on each respective leaderboard at the end of Qualifying Round 2.

What happens if I qualify for both the team and individual final rounds?

The final rounds for the President's Cup team and individual competitions will be held on different days. Competitors who qualify for any and all Finals round events will be able to compete in each one without a conflict.

Are Service Academy Cadets eligible to participate?

Service Academy Cadets are eligible and encouraged to participate! Cadets can register with their .edu email address, or contact the help desk at [email protected] and we will work to get you enrolled.

I participated in President's Cup last year. Should I use my existing account or create a new one?

If you are using the same email address as last year, use the Password Reset option to gain access to your existing account.

Can I publish thoughts, opinions, or walkthroughs of the President's Cup Challenges?

Competitors can publish thoughts, opinions or walkthroughs anywhere online (e.g., social media, YouTube, blog, etc.) but should wait until the end of the respective round. Publishing before the end of a round is in violation of Competition Conduct Rule #7 and could result in removal from the current President's Cup.

Will we be able to access the Internet in the challenge environments?

No. The required tools to solve a challenge will be included in the challenge environment. Internet connectivity is removed to keep the integrity of the competition and ensure there is a level playing field for all participants. Mirrors of standard application repositories (Apt and Pip) are provided for use inside of the challenge environment to install additional tools on the provided virtual machines.

What happens if I qualify for the Finals and am unable to attend in person?

In person attendance is mandatory in order to participate in the Finals. Once you are notified that you qualified for the Finals you will have to RSVP to the President's Cup Team.

• Teams must respond by February 21, 2025
• Individuals must respond by March 7, 2025

If you cannot attend, the next highest qualifying individual or team will be invited. Please note that entire teams will not be disqualified from participating in the Finals as long as at least two members attend.

Can I configure multi-factor authentication to use something other than my email address (e.g., a TOTP application)?

To use multi-factor authentication without access to your .gov/.mil email, visit your Identity profile and select Configure 2FA. You'll need to be logged in for this, so be sure to do this while you do have access to email.

There you can generate a Time-based One Time Password (TOTP) secret key. Use this secret key with any TOTP-enabled authentication app, such as Duo Mobile or Google Authenticator, by simply scanning the barcode. If you don't have access to your device, copy down the secret key and later input it into the TOTP app on your device.

View the Register/Enroll video for more information.

Note: If you no longer have access to the email address that you used to create your account, please contact [email protected] to have your new email address added to your account.

My email address has changed. Can I add an email address to my existing account?

To add an email address to an existing account, visit your Identity profile and select Credentials. You'll need to be logged in for this, so be sure to do this while you do have access to email if you do not have email-less MFA configured.

There, you can add additional email addresses to your account. You will be able to authenticate to your account using any one of the listed email addresses after email ownership is confirmed with a verification code.

Note: If you no longer have access to the email address that you used to create your account, please contact [email protected] to have your new email address added to your account.

How do I perform a password reset on my Gameboard account?

If you need to reset your Gameboard password, please navigate to your President's Cup ID page, click the Login button, and then Reset My Password. You will then receive an email at the email address that you used to sign up with instructions for resetting your password. After resetting your password, you will be able to access the President's Cup Gameboard with the new password that you created.