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Theme

We are excited to share that we are partnering with OWASP Philly for our 2026 event!

The theme for the 2026 competition is “AI-Enhanced Social Engineering Attacks on a Community-Based Pharmacy”.

GUIDELINES FOR USING AI TOOLS IN THE COMPETITION

During the live event, participants will be required to identify and utilize AI tools of their choice, such as text generators, or image generators. It’s crucial to begin researching and familiarizing yourself with these tools ahead of time.

Approved Tools & Resources

To ensure fairness, accessibility, and participant safety, all teams are required to use tools that are freely available and non-localized (i.e., not tied to a particular region or requiring paid licenses). Teams may choose from any platform that meets these criteria, provided the tool serves the following functions:

Text Generation: Tools that can generate written content to assist with creating personas, pretexts, phishing messages, or vishing scripts.
Image Generation: Tools that can produce or supply realistic human-like images for personas.
Text-to-Speech (for voice generation): Tools that can create or modify artificial voices for vishing calls. Note: Only synthetic voices may be used.

Requirements

  • Tools must be free to access (no paid subscription required).
  • Tools must be non-localized (AI models accessed through the internet rather than ones installed and run on a personal computer). To promote transparency, teams may only use non-localized tools that provide sharable URLs of their sessions. These URLs must be included as part of the final deliverables so that judges can review the prompts, responses, and workflow.
  • Personal or localized LLMs (models installed and run on private devices) are not permitted, as they may vary in size, customization, or hardware requirements, which could create an uneven playing field. Teams found using personal or localized LLMs will be disqualified.
  • Tools must not require students to submit their own voice or other PII.
  • All submissions must include documentation of the tools used and how they were applied in your workflow.
  • Students are not permitted to impersonate any real individuals (living or deceased).
  • Students are not permitted to represent or impersonate real organizations, whether currently active or defunct.

DeepSeek is not allowed for this competition.

Privacy is a key consideration

  • Participants are prohibited from entering, uploading, or using any sensitive, confidential, or personally identifiable information [including voice] (their own – or someone else’s) in any way in this competition.
  • Temple University, the CARE Lab, and the Advisory Board are not liable for the participants’ actions.
  • Remember that you are representing your institution, so ensure that you play by its rules.

IMPORTANT NOTES

  1. The advisor/mentor can be full-time faculty, full-time staff or full-time graduate student. Advisors/mentors who have part-time status (adjuncts, members from industry/government/nonprofit etc.) are not permitted. If you are a graduate student team, your advisor/mentor must be faculty or staff. Each team can only have ONE advisor/mentor.
  2. Participation will require parental permission (if under age 18).
  3. All selected participants must sign two waivers. The first waiver ensures that students do not cheat, use external/professional assistance, and use AI responsibly. This waiver must be completed during the application process.
  4. Zoom calls will be recorded, and those that are excellent will be shared on our website and/or at conference presentations! Each member of selected teams must also complete a second waiver which includes an audio-visual release to compete. This allows organizers to use images, audio, text, and video generated during the competition for event promotion and dissemination via conferences, publications, and podcasts. This waiver must be completed before the competition begins.
  5. Each member of selected teams will be required to complete a pre-event and post-event survey.
  6. Students are encouraged to check the FAQ page, especially #14 “How do I prepare?” to access resources that they may find useful.
  7. The orientation session will cover competition structure, schedule, rules, ethics, and waivers. The organizers will also answer any questions that teams may have.