Defend the X
Mission: Sector Hydra | Defend the Water System
Season 2026 · Critical Domains
Sector Hydra is a live, competitive Capture-the-Flag defense mission inside THE GRID – targeting industrial water infrastructure.
This mission is built to identify operators with the potential to join ON2IT’s Security Special Services Team – the top 10% of cybersecurity.
MISSION LOGISTICS
Date: February 5, 2026 | 1.30 PM – 6PM
Location: ON2IT HQ, Zaltbommel, the Netherlands
Duration: Approximately 4 hours
Format: Competitive, team-based defensive CTF
Access: Limited attendance · Registration required
Cost: Free
Inside THE GRID, a hidden cyber battlespace connecting the Netherlands’ critical infrastructure, a new anomaly is spreading.
Deep beneath a classified Dutch research facility, automated water-cooling systems begin to fail. Pressure spikes without cause. Sensor data contradicts reality. Control logic behaves as if it’s no longer trusted.
This facility relies on precise thermal equilibrium. Failure here doesn’t stay digital – it threatens national stability and physical safety.
In Sector Hydra, participants form defense units, each led by an ON2IT Team Captain – senior operators from ON2IT’s Security Special Service Team.
Your objective is simple:
- Detect the intrusion
- Contain the compromise.
- Restore operational control before physical thresholds are crossed.
You will not observe this incident. You will operate inside it.
Your unit must interpret what is happening, decide how to respond, and adapt as conditions change.
As part of the mission, you will:
- Compete in an intense, team-based Capture-the-Flag challenge
- Experience how cyber incidents in critical infrastructure escalate toward physical impact
- Gain insight into how a top-tier Dutch Security Operations Center is structured and run
- Work alongside ON2IT SOC professionals defending real threats every day
- Engage directly with ON2IT’s Chief Commanders (CEO and CTO) on mission intent, standards, and what it takes to operate at the top 10%
Some units contain the incident.
Others don’t. Make sure you’re on the right one.
Each defense unit is led by an ON2IT Team Captain – professionals responsible for defending real critical-infrastructure environments.
These operators do not solve the mission for you.
They challenge decisions, apply pressure, and observe how units respond when systems fail.
Defend the X is also how ON2IT identifies operators who perform under real-world constraints.
For some participants, Sector Hydra is a challenge. For others, it’s the first step toward joining the 10% of cybersecurity – our Security Special Service Team.
Sector Hydra is the first mission deployed inside THE GRID as part of Defend the X – Season 2026.
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