The Territorial Army, in collaboration with CyberPeace, has launched Terrier Cyber Quest 2026 (TCQ 3.0), a national-level hackathon aimed at developing innovative solutions to contemporary defence, cybersecurity and information-domain challenges.
In the third edition of the competition, Indian Army seeks to bring together technical talent from academia, industry, research institutions, government organisations and the Armed Forces. The initiative will focus on emerging areas including Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, threat mitigation and digital awareness, while encouraging development of indigenous solutions relevant to national security.
Building on the previous editions, TCQ 3.0 will be conducted across three competition tracks:
Bug Hunting: A cybersecurity challenge commencing with an online Capture-the-Flag (CTF) qualifier and culminating in an in-person live sandbox finale. Participants will be required to identify and document vulnerabilities in simulated critical infrastructure environments.
AI Kavach: An AI and machine-learning based challenge aimed at developing solutions for predictive threat intelligence, automated defence mechanisms and anomaly detection.
Creators Challenge: A digital media and storytelling competition for content creators, communicators and influencers to develop impactful awareness campaigns addressing threats such as deepfakes, phishing, online scams and misinformation.
Registrations for the competition are open till 31 August 2026. The online shortlisting phase will be conducted from 1 to 10 September 2026, followed by the Grand Finale in New Delhi from 6 to 8 October 2026. The award ceremony will be held on 9 October 2026.
