Polish IT and security whizzes have taken second place in the finals of the Hack-a-Sat competition.
Organized by the United States Air Force (USAF), the task was to regain control of a satellite lost as a result of a simulated hacking attack.
Teams also had to develop a mission plan to take a satellite image of the Moon, with Polish team ‘Poland Can Into Space’ preparing the most detailed plan and the only one to be used by a real satellite in orbit around the Earth.
Consisting of members of p4 and Dragon Sector - professionals dealing with ICT security ("Capture The Flag"), and experts with experience in designing Polish student satellite missions - the ‘Poland Can Into Space’ team first had to study all the components of the satellite model used in the finals.
But, in the last days before the finals, a tropical storm hit the eastern coast of the United States and left several hundred thousand houses without electricity, including the home of a team member where the test satellite was located.
The 'Polish' satellite had to be powered by a diesel generator during this time.
Held on August 7-9, the competition saw over 1,200 teams from around the world taking part.
“Poland Can Into Space’ who walked away with prize money of $ 45,000, qualified for the finals after solving a series of tasks in the field of ICT security and satellite technologies.
PAP - Science in Poland
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