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Daria Efimova
The first cybersecurity event of the URJC, HackOn, returns to the University this February with a new edition. Students, professors and other members of the university community will have the opportunity to participate in different activities and workshops, as well as attend a cycle of presentations related to the subject. The event will take place on February 16, except for the competition Catch The Flag (CTF), which will be held from February 11 to 14.
Due to the increase in COVID infections in recent months, all HackOn activities will be carried out remotely. Registration for the event They will remain open until February 4 (to participate in CTF), and until February 9 to attend presentations and workshops.
A dynamic and collaborative meeting
HackOn was born in 2019, the result of an initiative by students of the Degree in Cybersecurity Engineering. One of its goals is to create an affordable event for all those interested in the subject, even if they only have basic knowledge of it. To do this, it offers workshops that may be of general interest, such as "Digital Forensic: How to deal with an investigation from its beginning to its resolution", as well as more specialized activities. "We always try to have as much variety as possible", explains Eduardo Pascual García , one of the organizers of HackOn and a student at the URJC."On our website, we indicate what level each activity is; whether it is for beginners or requires prior knowledge. Each attendee can freely choose which one they are going to attend."
In line with this commitment, the event has a wide variety of speakers specialized in IT and cybersecurity. Among them are Elena Matilla Rodríguez, Associate Director of Accenture; Cristina Muñoz-Aycuens, Forensic Director at Grant Thornton; Claudio Soriente (Principal Researcher NEC Labs); as well as professors from the URJC.
Another great attraction of HackOn is the CTF competition. It consists of a series of challenges related to different aspects of cybersecurity. The objective is, through an alphanumeric chain, to obtain a "flag", searching for vulnerabilities and other information to find it. Once the time has elapsed, the proposed challenges will be resolved and the results will be published, giving participants the opportunity to raise questions and make suggestions for future CTFs.
Get ahead despite the circumstances
Although in principle this year's edition was going to be held in person, the pandemic has imposed its plans. “When we started planning the event, we expected to do it 'in person'”, narrates Eduardo Pascual. “However, at the last minute, we had to move it to remote. We have had to adapt many things, since organizing an event in these circumstances implies being in constant uncertainty that makes things even more difficult.”
However, HackOn has managed to adapt to the extraordinary circumstances and continue to propose new challenges to its participants. “We believe that our event allows people who want to dedicate themselves to cybersecurity to be up to date with the sector. Meeting the professionals, having contact with this world... We always try to surprise the public with something new and make them leave having learned something new”, concludes Eduardo Pascual.