ITWeb, in collaboration with Geekulcha, hosted a virtual ideathon this past weekend to prepare participants for the 10th edition of the ITWeb Security Summit hackathon.
Participants were welcomed by Ivan Regasek, CEO of ITWeb, who reflected on the growth of the initiative. “We have made a big round,” he said, noting that this year’s hackathon has a record-breaking number of participants.
Lorraine Forster, VP of CompTIA, a sponsor of the event, said: “This is not just an event. It is a pipeline of talent, a space where ideas are tested and the beginning of real journeys into technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.” She added that participants would be challenged on “not just what you know, but on how you think”.
Organisers outlined three challenge streams: secure design thinking, red teaming as the attacker, and blue teaming as the defender. Participants would be working on real-world cyber security challenges with a focus is on AI-driven cyber resilience.
Steve Jump, founder and MD of Custodient Advisory Services, spoke about cyber security threats: “What is the biggest threat attacker right now? It is AI being able to do active vulnerability scans on your applications faster than you were able to test them.” He added that when building solutions, “we must always take a step to the side and ask, what could possibly go wrong”.
Freddie Manyate, a software developer and member of last year's winning team, advised participants to avoid overcomplicating their solutions. “You shouldn’t build to show off technical complexities, because you risk over-engineering your solution. Make sure that your solution solves the problem and answers what the judges asked,” he said.
Dr James Stanger, chief technology evangelist at CompTIA, spoke about penetration testing: “If you’re doing a pen test without having a written contract, you’re not doing a pen test, you’re hacking.” He also highlighted the importance of planning and communication.
Organisers encouraged participants to engage throughout the ideathon and use the opportunity to learn and prepare for the next stages of the hackathon.
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