Security innovation hackathon: the winners develop mine-hunting IoT, kamikaze drones and space communications
After the cyber defence and security innovation hackathon "Ugninis skydas 2023", organised by the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union and the investment fund “ScaleWolf”, the winners showed impressive results in Kaunas. They already have plans for the most promising technologies. Experts say that the novelties can be used to strengthen the country's defence.
"We have brought together experts from different technological sectors. Some are managers, some are technicians who can develop different innovative products. We can already test such products, for example in Ukraine. Then we evaluate the technological feedback, improve the product and thus create a defence industry in Lithuania," said the Commander of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union, Lieutenant Colonel Linas Idzelis.
The Commander of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union emphasized that the security of the state requires a comprehensive vision. That is why the cyber defence and security innovation hackathon "Ugninis skydas 2023" combined two activities: the development of technologies for land, sea and air security in a classical hackathon and the online game CTF ("Capture The Flag"), which strengthens cybersecurity skills.
Winners get an offer for product development
During the three-day hackathon"Ugninis skydas 2023", teams spent countless hours generating ideas, crafting, prototyping, developing the products and consulting with top mentors. The game CTF, which lasted for 24 hours, was no less demanding in terms of energy and specific knowledge.
In the classic hackathon, “Stirlin” and “BROSWARM” were the strongest teams. They shared the prize money of 15,000 euros each.
The “Stirling” team was formed by the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union Cyber Security company "Lizdeika" and presented a prototype of a high-efficiency thermoelectric generator for USB devices to the hackathon committee.
The team of “BROSWARM”, a startup specialising in mine detection using drones, artificial intelligence and sensor technology, celebrated their victory by presenting a device that detects mines with the help of artificial intelligence.
Both teams have received invitations to develop their products and seek investment in the “ScaleWolf” accelerator programme.
Teams worked during the night
“Astrolight” won the second prize for its space-to-ground laser link, which creates unobstructed, hard-to-detect free-space optical links. The second prize also went to the “JGR” team, which presented a first-person-view kamikaze drone that is operational and safe for tactical exercises at night. The "JGR" team belongs to Vytautas the Great team at the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union in Kaunas County, and have constructed unmanned aerial vehicles. The second prize-winning teams shared 10,000 euros each.
The third place in the classic hackathon went to the team "Pinčiukai", which developed the instructions for the first-person-view drone terminal, and to the team "Aktyvus Photonics", which presented an autonomous laser marking device. Both teams won 5,000 euros each.
One of the organisers of the hackathon, the head of Tech-Park Kaunas and mentor Paulius Nezabitauskas, noticed that during the hackathon, one-third of the teams, after consulting their mentors, changed their positions and even redesigned the technologies.
"Several teams finished prototyping their products only in the morning, just before the presentation to the hackathon jury. It implies how important it was for the teams to win and get the investors’ attention. Most of the proposed products had interfaces with artificial intelligence (AI). This is particularly important when planning different tactics in warfare, where quick decisions are needed. AI can use the information it gathers to recommend how to proceed and change the course of the battle," said Mr Nezabitauskas.
Students conquered in the Virtual Training Ground
Fifty participants competed in the CTF Cyber Competition at the “Ugninis skydas 2023” Hackathon. The task was the same for all of them - to find 28 flags hidden in the virtual polygon created especially for this hackathon.
The game was won by the student team “V-Tech” from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH). IT specialist Tautis Levinskas was rewarded as the best solo player in the category.
"Many strong teams were participating in the CTF competition, but what was pleasantly surprising was that the competition was not only as competitive as possible but also that the participants shared their knowledge and helped each other not to get stuck and to move on. The tasks were interesting, complex, requiring a wide range of knowledge and maximally engaging," said Vitalijus Gurčinas, an information technology safety expert at VILNIUS TECH University, who brought together the winning team for the CTF game. According to him, not only the excellent knowledge of the students but also their extremely high motivation contributed to the victory.
"Our preparation was not of a high level. From the very beginning of the game, we had to learn very quickly and apply solutions here and now. The confidence and the division of labour helped us to win. Without a team, working alone would have been much more difficult," said Ignas Saladžius, the leader of the “V-Tech” team.
In addition to the prize fund for the three teams, the organizers have distributed 60,000 euros to 6 teams.
The Commander of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union, Lieutenant Colonel Linas Idzelis shared his plans to organise more cyber defence and security innovation hackathons in the future, especially since there have already been requests to participate in this event next year.
130 participants took part in the event. They were mentored by mentors from different sectors, including experts from the international cyber security institute "SANS", as well as "TryHackMe" and "ScaleWolf". The ideas of the hackathon teams were evaluated by partners of the investment fund “ScaleWolf”. On the last day, they decided to double the prizes and, instead of the planned prize fund of 30,000 euros for three teams, they distributed 60,000 euros to six teams.