- Selected from more than 200 white-hat hackers, bringing skills honed on the world stage back to society -

GMO Internet Group, Inc. (TOKYO: 9449), a global leader in internet infrastructure and security headquartered in Tokyo, will send a group-wide team to compete in the Capture The Flag (CTF) competition at “DEF CON 34,” the world’s premier security conference, to be held August 6–9, 2026 in Las Vegas, USA. By feeding the knowledge gained on this world-class stage back into vulnerability assessments and product development, GMO will accelerate the realization of its vision that “GMO will protect your Internet Security.”

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The Cloud Village team that competed in “DEF CON 33”

GMO Internet Group is home to more than 200 white-hat hackers across GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae and GMO Flatt Security combined — the largest number of any group in Japan (No. 1 in white-hat hacker headcount). Selected members drawn from this pool will take on “DEF CON 34.”

[Results at “DEF CON 33” in 2025]

Since joining "DEF CON" in 2023, GMO Internet Group has entered multiple teams each year. Last year's "DEF CON 33" results included:

• GMO Ierae: Cloud Village CTF — 1st place in the world (three consecutive years)
• Blue Water: DEF CON CTF Finals — 2nd place in the world
• GMO Flatt Security: AppSec Village CTF — 3rd place in the world; Hardware Hacking Village CTF — 5th place in the world

[Introducing the Teams Competing in “DEF CON 34” in 2026]

DEF CON CTF Finals Team
A mixed unit joined by a Japanese team, aiming for a third consecutive Finals appearance
Blue Water (Joint Team)
"To finally achieve the championship we have long sought, we will fight at full strength through the very last question, to the very last second," said Yuki Koike, Executive Officer and CTO of GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae, who will compete as a member of Blue Water.

Village Teams
A cloud security assessment team aiming for a fourth consecutive title after three in a row
GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae — Cloud Village CTF (“GMO Ierae”)

Aiming for a first championship on the strength of comprehensive IoT security capability
GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae — IoT-related Village CTF (“GMO Ierae”)

Bringing real-world “defensive” expertise to the world stage for the first time
GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae — Blue Team Village CTF (“GMO Ierae”)

GMO Internet Group supports participation in CTF because it views the event not merely as a technical competition, but as an important opportunity to sharpen white-hat hackers’ skills in an environment close to real-world conditions, and to give back to society.

[Learn more]
https://gmo-cybersecurity.com/en/
https://flatt.tech/en/
https://group.gmo/en/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260731335124/en/

"To finally achieve the championship we have long sought, we will fight at full strength through the very last question, to the very last second." — Yuki Koike, Executive Officer and CTO, GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae