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CipherHacks is a free, 24-hour cybersecurity-themed hackathon for high school students, taking place October 10–11, 2025 at the San Diego Central Library, Shiley Special Event Suite. Our goal is to bring together students from across San Diego to learn new skills, build projects, and connect with others in a fun and beginner-friendly environment.

Whether you’re a first-time hacker or an experienced programmer, CipherHacks has something for you: workshops, mentors, and plenty of time to work on exciting projects. You don’t need any prior experience, we’ll help you get started!

• Cybersecurity theme - Learn about digital security and privacy while building projects that make an impact.

• Beginner-friendly - No experience required! We’ll have intro workshops and mentors to help you every step of the way.

• Free to attend - We’ll provide food, drinks, swag, and a great venue so you can focus on building.

• Prizes and giveaways - Compete for cool prizes and walk away with free gear and exclusive merch.

• Meet like-minded people - Connect with other students who share your interests in tech and innovation.

CipherHacks is open to all high school students, regardless of experience level. If you’re curious about programming, cybersecurity, or tech in general, this is the perfect place to start.

• Technical Implementation
  Is the project technically impressive? Does it use an advanced tech stack?
• Impact & Purpose
  Does the project have a beneficial impact in the cybersecurity world? Does it properly solve the problem it sought to fix?
• Polish & Presentation
  Was the project polished? Was the presentation effective? Did you convince the judges that your project is worth winning?
• Creativity and Originality
  This criteria is very open. Is the idea exciting/appealing? Is it unique? Does it take a fresh attempt to a common problem?
• Cyber Alignment
  Did you actually follow the prompt/theme or go off in lala land
• Wow Factor
  Would someone go woah, if they saw your project?