Prioritizing Information Security: IDBank and Idram Support APOCALYPSE CTF 2025

ArmInfo. From November 22 to 23, the annual cybersecurity “Capture the Flag 2025” competition was held under the roof of the high-tech accelerator “Engineering City,” this year presented with the theme “AI APOCALYPSE.” The event brought together cybersecurity professionals and students, who competed for 24 hours, identifying system vulnerabilities, studying viruses and malware, and solving current cybersecurity challenges.

The purpose of this annual competition is to increase interest in cybersecurity in Armenia.

Among the event partners, IDBank and Idram sponsored the prizes for the winning teams.

Hambardzum Danielyan, Head of Information Security at IDBank, noted: “IDBank spares no effort or resources to further strengthen the Bank’s cybersecurity. Today I can say that we have achieved a stage where almost all risks have been reduced. As for the CTF, such initiatives stimulate the development of the cybersecurity field by giving young specialists and students the opportunity to test their skills in a practical environment, discover new knowledge, and solve complex cybersecurity-related problems. We are confident that there is truly great potential and growing interest in this field in Armenia, and the number of teams participating in this event is proof of that. We believe that CTF makes a meaningful contribution to the country’s future digital security.”

“CTF, short for ‘Capture the Flag’ is an international-format hacking competition whose main goal is to develop the cybersecurity field and increase young people’s interest in the profession. The tasks proposed during the event are very similar to real-world fraud scenarios. In Armenia, the competition is being held for the 6th time. The support of IDBank and Idram shows that the companies value this field and professional development and appreciate the importance of having participants of this scale. And in the future, they may even consider bringing specialists from this community into their own teams,” said Mari Barseghyan, Head of the CyHub Armenia cybersecurity initiative of the “Enterprise Incubator Foundation.”

Over the course of two days, more than 250 participants from 56 teams tested their skills by solving complex practical tasks related to artificial intelligence systems and their security vulnerabilities. The main goal of the event was to discover new talents, develop participants’ analytical thinking and rapid response skills, and strengthen the professional potential of the field.

Hasmik Alaverdyan, IT Security Manager at Idram, is convinced that a secure digital environment is a priority for any system, whether it is a government institution, a personal data database, or the financial sector: “Cybersecurity is the foundation of our customers’ trust and the stability of the entire financial technology ecosystem, and in order to ensure the high security of our services, we regularly carry out system upgrades and updates. As for the CTF, I should note that such events are very effective for the continuous development of the field, as they allow young specialists to test their skills in conditions as close as possible to a real environment, acquire new knowledge, and solve complex problems that tomorrow may turn into real challenges.”

The AIN team became the winner of the competition by collecting the highest number of flags, while the HIGH5 and LAPS teams took 2nd and 3rd places respectively. The winning teams were awarded by the prize sponsors, IDBank and Idram. In addition to the prizes for the top three teams, IDBank and Idram also rewarded two more teams for solving their proposed challenges, as well as the fastest team. All prizes were provided in the form of Idcoins. It should be noted that Idcoins can be used for payments at more than 25,000 merchant locations where Idram payment is available.