Territorial Army launches ‘Terrier Cyber Quest 3.0’ to develop indigenous cybersecurity solutions

New Delhi, August 21. The Territorial Army, in partnership with CyberPeace, has launched the third edition of its national-level hackathon, Terrier Cyber Quest 2026 (TCQ 3.0), to encourage innovative solutions to emerging challenges in defence, cybersecurity and the information domain.

The competition seeks to bring together technology talent from academia, industry, research institutions, government organisations and the armed forces. The initiative will focus on areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, threat mitigation and digital awareness, with an emphasis on developing indigenous technologies relevant to national security.

TCQ 3.0 will feature three competition tracks:

• The Bug Hunting track will begin with an online Capture-the-Flag (CTF) qualifying round and conclude with an in-person live sandbox finale. Participants will be tasked with identifying and documenting vulnerabilities in simulated critical infrastructure environments.
• The AI Kavach track will focus on artificial intelligence and machine-learning solutions for predictive threat intelligence, automated defence systems and anomaly detection.
• The Creators Challenge will invite content creators, communicators and influencers to develop digital media and storytelling campaigns aimed at raising awareness about threats including deepfakes, phishing, online scams and misinformation.

The hackathon builds on the earlier editions of Terrier Cyber Quest and is intended to strengthen collaboration between the armed forces and India’s wider technology ecosystem.

Registrations for TCQ 3.0 will remain open until August 31, 2026. The online shortlisting round will take place from September 1 to 10, followed by the Grand Finale in New Delhi from October 6 to 8. The winners will be honoured at an award ceremony on October 9, 2026.