Fontys ICT student Isa participant EK Cyber Security

Europe's biggest hacking competition gets a Dutch participant from Tilburg this year: Fontys ICT student Isa Roovers is part of TeamNL at the European Cyber Security Challenge (ECSC) in Poland. From 6 to 10 October, young cyber security talents from more than 30 countries will compete against each other in hacking and security assignments.

Isa (20) from Rijsbergen is studying HBO-ICT in Tilburg, where she is developing into a professional in the field of cyber security. Her adventure began with a Capture the Flag (CTF) event of Challenge the Cyber in Amsterdam, in which 150 students participated. "I joined purely because it looked like fun. I was only five weeks into cyber security and really didn't think I would end up in TeamNL. But through the CTF, I was invited to a bootcamp with 36 students. After workshops, hacking assignments and even an interview with the coaches, to my surprise I became one of the 10 selected team members."

Preparations with AI
TeamNL consists of ten students from all over the Netherlands, who are being prepared for the EC under the guidance of four experienced former participants. The preparation consists of training sessions, a team-building day and practice matches. Isa: "I'm mostly just letting it come to me. It could well be that this year's competition will be a battle of 'who has built the best AI'. That makes it extra exciting. AI tools are getting better and better at solving CTF challenges these days. We also have participants within TeamNL looking at how to use AI strategically. I myself am also already using AI as a tool to learn new things and explore faster."
In addition, ENISA, the European cybersecurity authority and co-initiator of the ECSC, is organising a special bootcamp for female participants. Isa is also participating in this, after ECSC. Isa will therefore return to the Netherlands later than the rest of TeamNL.

Cybersecurity crucial
Within Fontys, Isa's participation is seen as confirmation of the strong cybersecurity community the university has built up in recent years. Ron Mélotte, Cyber Security project leader at Fontys ICT: "The data leak at Clinical Diagnostics makes painfully clear the impact of leaking personal information, from BSN to medical data. Without well-trained cyber security professionals, technical flaws often go unnoticed until they lead to personal harm to patients and severe financial and reputational damage to organisations. As a result of the rapid adoption of AI, new vulnerabilities are emerging. Criminals are increasingly using AI for sophisticated social engineering: getting people to share confidential information or access secure systems through e.g. phishing. This continues to increase the complexity of threats. At the same time, the shortage of professionals with up-to-date cyber security knowledge and skills is growing.
At Fontys, we address this problem by providing students with hands-on training, with an eye for security skills, so that they are immediately employable in the fight against modern threats. We encourage students to enter hacking competitions, as this contributes immensely to their professional development."

Personal ambitions
For Isa, the ECSC is more than a competition: it is a chance to explore her passion and future path. "I'm currently doing an internship at the Police Academy and don't know exactly what I want to do later on, but I'm definitely going to do something in cyber security. Maybe I will do a master's after my bachelor's. For now, I am mainly enjoying the chance to represent the Netherlands. This is an adventure I never expected."

See also: https://ecsc.eu, https://challengethecyber.nl