Participants

The bootcamp was open to national ethical hacking teams from ten European countries participating in the European Cyber Security Challenge (ECSC), as well as to members of Team Europe, a pool of top talents selected to represent the continent at the upcoming International Cyber Security Challenge in Tokyo this November. Participants, aged between 14 and 25, were selected by their national cybersecurity organizations based on their skills and potential in the field.

Invited teams included Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.

Workshops

The young talents participated in a wide range of workshops and practical sessions covering digital forensics, mobile and web security, hardware hacking, and reverse engineering. These sessions were led by international experts and featured interactive challenges that tested the participants’ skills in real-time.

This year’s program also included a research session by Philipp Beer, PhD student at TU Wien’s Security & Privacy Research Unit. He presented the team’s latest work on Android security and showcased a live demo of TapTrap, an attack that will be presented at the upcoming USENIX Security Symposium in August in Seattle, WA (BleepingComputer just published an article covering the attack).

The complete list of workshops included:

• Thomas Weber — Hardware & Firmware Hacking
• Jan Gocník — Unconventional Reversing
• Davide Maiorca — Digital Forensics in CTF
• Philippe Dourassov — Cool Tricks for Web Challenges
• Philipp Beer — When the Web Meets Apps: The Security Pitfalls of In-App Browsing
• Gabriele Digregorio — libdebug: Build Your Own Debugger

Capture the Flag (CTF) Competition

The second day featured the highly anticipated Capture the Flag (CTF) competition. Participants were assigned to 23 mixed-nationality teams to foster international collaboration and teamwork. The competition was based on challenges developed for the Austria Cyber Security Challenge (ACSC), Austria’s national cybersecurity championship, co-organized by the TU Wien Cybersecurity Center (CYSEC) and Cyber Security Austria (CSA).

The CTF presented complex, real-world cybersecurity problems, called “challenges,” providing an excellent platform for participants to apply their knowledge in a competitive setting.

Vienna as a European Hub for Cybersecurity

The bootcamp further strengthened Vienna’s position as a European center for cybersecurity research, training, and cross-border cooperation. Alongside expert-led workshops and competitive team events, participants enjoyed social activities that fostered meaningful connections.

Reflecting on the event, Marco Squarcina, senior scientist at the TU Wien Cybersecurity Center and one of the main organizers, shared his thoughts:

“A fantastic event that fostered a growing community of incredible young talents and a great opportunity for them to make new friends along the way. I am proud to have been part of this event and to keep contributing to the growth of the cybersecurity community in Europe.”

Marco is a leading figure in the European ethical hacking community, having organized the European Cyber Security Challenge (ECSC) in Vienna in 2022, offered advanced training sessions for Team Europe, and currently co-organizing the Austria Cyber Security Challenge (ACSC) while serving as head coach of the Austrian national team.

Acknowledgments and Future Outlook

The bootcamp was organized by the TU Wien Cybersecurity Center (CYSEC) and Cyber Security Austria (CSA), with support from the City of Vienna and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA).

Special thanks go to Marco Squarcina, Joe Pichlmayer, Manuel Reinsperger, and the entire roster of coaches, trainers, challenge authors, and supporters. TU Wien looks forward to building on this success and continuing to offer world-class training through future editions of the bootcamp.

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