The Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) and KINDI Center for Computing Research at Qatar University College of Engineering (QU-CENG) have announced the winners of the Ethical Hacking Competition.
One hundred students from CENG participated in the competition in which they tested an organisation’s computers to detect if they are vulnerable to outside attacks.
Firts place winners are students Mohammed Saad, Mohammed Amaan Sheikh and Azeem Mohamed (Anonymous team). Second place winners are students Amro Darder, Mazen Abdelfattah and Mohamed Ali (SkyNet team), while the third place winners are students Yassmine Barkallah, Fatma Al Mansoori and Manel Ferjani (CyberGuards team). The third place ex aequo was achieved by students Mohamed Sadok Gastli, Jyohan Joglekar and Mustafa Farag Ibrahim Aly Rakha (Pandas team).
The participants attended two workshops held by CSE and KINDI Center for Computing Research to orient them on the competition’s guidelines.
CENG Dean Dr Khalifa Al Khalifa said that “ethical hacking” and “ethical hacker” are terms used to describe hacking performed by individuals to help identify potential threats on a computer or network. He also explained that an ethical hacker attempts to bypass system security and search for any weak points that could be exploited by malicious hackers. “This information is then used by the organisation to improve the system security in an effort to minimise or eliminate any potential attacks,” he said.
He added: “I would like to thank the organisers of this competition for their efforts to raise the students’ awareness on ethical hacking. This competition aligns with CENG’s mission to produce graduates who are experts in computer science and engineering and to provide the industry with national engineers and highly -qualified professionals who will contribute to realise the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.”
CSE Head Dr Sumaya Al Madeed said: “Ethical hacking is a key component to strengthening the system security of an organisation, and it is one of the most wanted criteria for any professional in the field of cyber security. I am glad that we provided QU students with the opportunity to practice ethical hacking. By simulating the attackers we can discover the weaknesses in our own organizations and provide efficient solutions to maintain the security of our systems.”
KINDI Center for Computing Research Acting Director Prof Abbes Amira said: “KINDI Center aims to pioneer future directions and innovation in cyber security technologies, one of its research focus areas. The Center continues to support this type of activities that involve CSE students, which will enhance their learning experience about cyber security and ethical hacking.”
