The team that will represent us at the European Cyber Security Challenge 2018 is ready
The team will participate in the European Cybersecurity Competition, which aims to find, attract and promote a new generation of talent in the field of protection and security of information systems and networks.
Athens, September 14, 2018 – Almost simultaneously with the first school bell, the final team that will participate in the Greek mission that will compete in the major pan-European cybersecurity competition , European Cyber Security Challenge 2018 (ECSC '18) , between October 15 and 17, 2018 in London, is announced
The competition is an initiative of the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security ENISA ), which operates as the European Union's centre of expertise on network and information security. The Greek mission is supported this year by the Ministry of Digital Policy, Telecommunications & Information and the General Secretariat for Digital Policy.
The aim of the competition is to find, attract and promote a new generation of talent in the field of cybersecurity, through a series of demanding challenges. The countries that participate in this competitive challenge each year are represented by a single team, consisting of ten people, the coaches and the captain.
The responsibility for the Greek participation in the competition lies with the Department of Digital Systems of the University of Piraeus. Led by the department's associate professor, Mr. Christos Xenakis, a specialized team of volunteers involved in the field of cybersecurity are already preparing the Greek participation for the pan-European ECSC 2018, aiming for a high distinction.
After a months-long testing process, the final ten contestants who will represent our country at ECSC 2018 have now been formed. The team consists of 10 young people between the ages of 14-25, who stood out with their performance in the qualifying competition held last April. From then until the beginning of September, all the children who qualified began intensive training, with live-hacking tests as well as education, which aimed to inform and practice the participants on modern threats, security gaps and the means used by hackers to bypass security systems.
This year's team consists of ten young people, professionals and non-professionals, hackers, security researchers, but even students, who are involved in hacking.
The preparation of the participants throughout the training sessions is coordinated by Mr. Konstantinos Vavousis, director of Secnews.gr (https://www.secnews.gr/) and is carried out by experts from the Hack the box community (https://www.hackthebox.eu/) and the Greunion team (https://twitter.com/greunion_ctf).
The executives of ADACOM and UBITECH are also actively involved in the organization and planning of the team's training. At present, the members of the Greek delegation continue to train in order to develop their skills to the highest possible level until the competition is held in October in London.
Great helpers in this effort are the sponsors, who actively support the Greek national cybersecurity team, ensuring the appropriate conditions for its success and whom we warmly thank for their support in the effort of the Greek team. More specifically:
Diamond Sponsors: ADACOM, UBITECH
Diamond Transportation Sponsor: Aegean Airlines
Platinum Sponsor: Group (Info Quest Technologies, Uni Systems)
Gold Sponsors: IDE – INTRACOM Defense Electronics
Silver Sponsor: Thales
Supporters: devolo, Hack The Box, Netsquare, The Cube, Yenkee, Athens – Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport
Media Sponsors: Biztech.gr, Epixeiro.gr, Huffington Post, IT Professional Security, NetFax, Netweek, ReCred, SecNews, Spoudazo.gr, Tech Matrix
Our national team has its own digital space at www.ecsc.gr where interested parties can be informed about all the details of ECSC 2018.
Additionally, you can follow the Greek team on social media:
Facebook: Hellenic Team-European Cyber Security Challenge
LinkedIn: European Cyber Security Challenge – Hellenic Team
Twitter: Hellenic Cyber Security Team @ECSCGR
About the European Cyber Security Challenge
The 1stcompetition was held in October 2015 in Lucerne, Switzerland, with the participation of 6 teams from EU member states and European Free Trade Association countries. In 2016, the competition was held in Germany with the participation of 10 national teams, while last year, the competition was held in Malaga, Spain, with the participation of 15 teams. In the digital age, information security is a key priority, at a global level. This is due to the special role that information plays in modern society, the economy, production and geopolitical relations. Considering that attacks targeting information are constantly increasing, aiming both at profit and at the destabilization of basic structures, digital security should be ensured and evaluated in every sector and activity, daily. This requires better organized structures, greater investments, but, above all, properly trained human resources. Holding competitions, such as the ECSC, is the appropriate basis for educating people, especially young people, who, with their knowledge and talent, will constitute the shield of the digital society.
