A new edition of the URJC Cybersecurity League comes to an end

Raúl García Hémonnet/Andrea Fernández Fernández

A new chapter of the Rey Juan Carlos University Cybersecurity League has come to an end with the recognition ceremony for the winners, which took place last Friday on the Móstoles campus.

Jaime Bonafé Maccedo and Pablo Picurelli Ortiz placed first and second, respectively, in the competition. Both put into practice what they had learned in class and excelled in their reports, highlighting the vulnerabilities of the analyzed systems, using the most thorough methodology, and presenting the two most comprehensive reports in the competition.

Both have received recognition from internationally renowned companies, as well as a diploma for their performance. “Palo Alto Networks sponsors the first prize and Extreme Networks the second, and participants can also earn academic credit.”

As José Antonio Rubio, head of IT security at URJC, explains, “the purpose of the league is to connect theory with real practice, allowing students to gain professional experience in cybersecurity and helping the university to detect and correct flaws that could go unnoticed, thus strengthening both the training of students and the security of the systems themselves.

The recognition ceremony was presided over by Belén Vela, Vice-Rector for Coordination and Digital Transformation, and Juan Manuel Dévora, Head of the Information Technology Department. Also present were Paula Mata, Sales Manager at Palo Alto Networks, and Cristina Pérez, her counterpart at Extreme Networks.

Finding vulnerabilities

Universities are exposed to numerous malicious actors attempting to attack their information systems, and they also lack the resources of large corporations with a similar volume of assets. On the other hand, internationally renowned universities have recognized the potential for synergies with their students in this area, enabling them to conduct security analyses within a controlled environment to identify vulnerabilities in the organization's IT infrastructure.

From this synergy emerged the 'Bug Bounty URJC' initiative, a pioneer in the field of Public Administrations in Spain, and from which the 'URJC Cybersecurity League' aims to be an evolution directed at Students (Bachelor's, Master's, Doctorate and Own Titles) and Alumni of the university interested in this subject.