AUGUST 19, 2026 – Soldiers and Civilians from Fort George G. Meade will host the first of three Hackathon events to encourage teen interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) at the Odenton Regional Library, Anne Arundel County Public Library, from 4 to 6:30 p.m., on September 29.
The next two Hackathon events at the Odenton Regional Library are on October 29 and November 16. Registration is open now for the September event on the AACPL website at https://www.aacpl.net/event/hackathon-vi-237445.
This is the sixth year the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade (Cyber) is hosting Hackathon and at the event young people can compete in a CTF (capture-the-flag) where participants search for flags, using a variety of techniques including reverse engineering, decryption, netcat, and ssh keys; and at the four other stations, completing those challenges contributes to their overall CTF score.
Those stations include: a Basic Python table where participants complete python programming challenges, varying in difficulty from basic to advanced; a Publicly Available Information (PAI) table where participants appreciate the perils of posting personal information online and learn techniques for browsing publicly available information; a Logic Games table where participants practice binary number systems, modulo operations, and Boolean algebra; a Password Cracking table where participants learn the principles of password security; and there is also a Locksport and ham radio table hosted by the Maryland Mobileers Amateur Radio Club.
Young people focus on learning and practicing the art of defeating locking mechanisms at the Locksport table, and volunteers from the Maryland Mobileers Amateur Radio Club have hands on equipment to spark participant’s curiosity in wireless communication and amateur radio.
For other attendees, including cybersecurity job seekers, college students, and parents of the participants, the civilian personnel officer for the 780th MI Brigade is there to discuss job opportunities and the hiring process for government civilians. There is no requirement to register for this opportunity.
Although a relatively small event, since the library caps registration at 25, the volunteers have never turned away a walk-in participant, and young people will benefit from this personalized event.
There are prizes for the 1st and 2d place finishers in the Capture-the-Flag event, and other items are given out at each station for each Hackathon participant; and something new this year, participants will get a PCB badge and earn pins for completing each station.
For more information contact the Brigade Public Affairs Office.
Registration for:
October 29, 2026: https://www.aacpl.net/event/hackathon-vi-237446
November 16, 2026: https://www.aacpl.net/event/hackathon-vi-237447
Story by Steven Stover
780th Military Intelligence Brigade (Cyber)