The mhackeroni, a team of young Italian “ethical hackers” made up of students from various universities, many of them enrolled in the Computer Science & Engineering degree course at the Politecnico di Milano, achieved a double success in the field of computer security. The team qualified for the finals of two prestigious international competitions, demonstrating their talent and skills in the field.

The first result was achieved during the DEF CON CTF 31 qualifications, the renowned “Capture the Flag” computer security competition. Forty young hackers from different regions of Italy challenged each other in an intense 48-hour confrontation, which the mhackeroni played at the NECSTLab of the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of the Politecnico di Milano. Only twelve teams made it to the finals, and the mhackeroni came eighth out of more than 1,800 registered teams. Industry professionals and university teams take part in the competition. DEF CON CTF is considered the most prestigious hacking competition in the world and is extremely competitive.

The Italian team also achieved an outstanding result at Hack-A-Sat 4, a competition focused on the security of space systems. Hack-A-Sat was created through a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Air Force and the U.S. Directorate for Digital Services. The mhackeroni, who also on this occasion played at the NECSTLab, took second place out of more than 800 participating teams, making them among the five finalist teams that will have the opportunity to interact with an orbiting satellite during the final phase of the competition. The satellite in question, called Moonlighter, will represent the first hacking sandbox in space and will offer unique challenges and features in comparison to a laboratory simulation. This achievement is particularly significant as it demonstrates the expertise and brilliance of the mhackeroni in the context of space cyber security.

The finals of both competitions will be held from August 11 to 13, 2023 in Las Vegas, during the DEF CON. It will be an extraordinary opportunity for the Italian team to test its skills in the field of cyber security, both globally and in space. Both competitions are an important showcase to demonstrate the Italian team's talent and attract the interest of industry experts and specialised media. The mhackeroni are ready to put Italy on the international cybersecurity map, demonstrating their value and expertise in both contexts.