For the first time, Cybersecurity Week Luxembourg was organised directly in connection with the annual Hack.lu conference, with the ambition of connecting the two events to bring together profiles from all horizons, the organisers starting from the principle that “cybersecurity is a subject that requires a collaborative approach at all levels (universities, companies, governments, etc.).” The event highlighted the talents of Luxembourg’s dense and active ecosystem.

The “Best Paper at Hack.lu” prize for Pedro Umbelino

Pedro Umbelino, currently a senior researcher at Bitsight Technologies, was awarded the “Best Paper at Hack.lu” prize for his article “Blowing up gas stations for fun and profit.” The researcher has carried out research that has led him to discover vulnerabilities in certain technologies, highlighting critical problems affecting smartphones and intelligent hoovers as well as GPS trackers and HTTP servers. In his research, he mentions the automatic tank gauging (ATG) systems that control the storage and management of fuels in critical infrastructures. “Despite past warnings, thousands of ATG systems remain online, unprotected and vulnerable to exploitation,” he explained in his presentation.

TeamLU, the country’s most promising young talents

After coming 27th in the European Cybersecurity Challenge 2024, TeamLU won the “Most Promising Young Talent in Luxembourg” prize, supported by the directorate of defence. The team is made up of several young people, all passionate about cybersecurity. They took part in a challenge on the CyberRange platform and were supported by PWC Luxembourg.

Cortex Security, startup of the year

Represented by its director Ziya Genç, the startup Cortex Security--which also took part in the Fit4Start competition--received the Cybersecurity Startup Award, selected by the Luxembourg House of Cybersecurity. In particular, it has developed the “DataSecure Anti-Ransomware” solution, based on advanced AI-powered algorithms to protect businesses against ransomware attacks. The Esch-based startup targets malicious attachments, for example, and where an anti-virus programme would not necessarily detect zero-day ransomware, its solution will be able to detect it. Other targets of this solution: infected USB keys or hacked computers. The idea is to provide a solution for analysing threats before they even enter the ecosystem.

Claudio Orlando Miele, DPO of the Year

Claudio Orlando Miele, data protection officer at Forvis Mazars, has been crowned ‘DPO of the Year,’ succeeding Julien Winkin (Luxgap, 2023) and government commissioner Maximillien Spielmann (2022), both members of this year’s jury. His “innovative approach to the role of DPO” earned him this distinction. Spielmann has a wealth of professional experience in the financial and technology industries. He specialises in compliance, governance, risk management and internal audit, and says he is “passionate about privacy, data protection, cybersecurity and their interaction with emerging technologies.”

Luc Cottin, Ciso of the Year

The awards ceremony ended with the presentation of the new “Ciso of the Year,” who will represent the community for a year. , CEO of Rsecure and CISO of Rcube Professional Services, succeeds Frank Bedell (2023) and Guy Isler (2022). In the past, he has held various positions, including IT assistant manager at Lombard International Assurance and Ciso at Alter Domus. He has in-depth technical skills in areas such as IT systems networks, security, threat and vulnerability management, with solid expertise in information security governance, risk and compliance management and information security programme management.

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