Cybersecurity enthusiasts have an appointment marked in red on their calendar every June. The National Police School in Ávila welcomes since 2019 c1b3rwallthe Cybersecurity and Cyberintelligence Congress organized by National Police.
In 2023 it reaches its third edition, and it does so by incorporating many new features into its program, without leaving aside its essence: “It is more than a congress, it is an experience”. This is how the head of the appointment describes it, Casimiro Nevado, Chief Inspector of the National Police and Coordinator of the C1b3rWall project who attends us for this interview.
The date of this meeting had already been announced a few months ago and was marked on the calendar of the thousands of attendees who repeat each year: from June 20-22, 2023. They only needed one thing: register and reserve your place. Registration opened a few days ago and the response has been as unanimous as in previous years. Whoever wants to attend this meeting will have to hurry because places fly.
Average Bit Life. Casimiro, third edition of C1b3rWall, one of the most popular and beloved events on the cybersecurity and cyberintelligence scene. Registrations have been open for a few days, what has been the response?
Casimiro Nevado. Well, in the first 24 hours we receive more than 900 registrations. We are very happy, they are asking us for a lot of information. The agenda is not published yet, there are many speakers, but we will be in the same numbers as previous years, approximately.
BLm. This year the central theme will be the Immersive and Safe Future, why did you choose it?
CN. Precisely for this reason, all the developments of Artificial Intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality… attract a lot of attention from the media, they have a side that is not usually talked about much, which is security.
To anticipate what might happen in the future when we have these much more advanced developments, we want to talk about what we may find in that future and what we can do to prevent cybercriminals from taking advantage of these new technologies.
BLm. You mentioned AI, which is undoubtedly one of the most attractive topics, what other topics are relevant in the cybersecurity landscape and will be addressed in the congress?
CN. Undoubtedly, AI will be one of the star topics, immersive developments, we will have a very important part of demonstrations, exhibitions and part of the fair of companies that are developing different virtual reality and augmented reality tools and that are going to tell us about the consequences. they have for security. And of course all matters related to digital security, cybersecurity that we touch on year after year.
BLm. What do you think of the advances that are taking place in AI and the fears that are being generated in this regard? Its involvement in cybersecurity. (bad guys use it, good guys have to use it too). Do we have to be vigilant?
CN. Like any other technology, it will have a double use. It will benefit those of us who use it to seek the common good, the benefit of society, and obviously cybercriminals will try to use it for their purposes.
It is like a weapon that a policeman can use to defend a person, a criminal can use it to kill someone. All technology has this overuse and will have its positive and negative side. Our role is to try to anticipate what those negative aspects of these technologies are going to do to try to prevent cybercriminals from using it.
BLm. CiberWall is characterized by the large catalog of activities. You have mentioned some of them: talks in the auditorium, workshops, parallel talks, activities, exhibitions, area of stands for companies, which also prepare their own activities. What will attendees get to see and do this year?
CN. How could it be otherwise, and after having presented the first team of eSports of the Police of the world, we are going to have a gaming area, where attendees can live the experience of a professional player, play different games, compete against professional gamers and have a lot of fun, because they will be given many challenges and many both virtual and physical tests and that is going to be an important attraction.
In addition to the entire fair, the thousands and thousands of virtual reality glasses that we are going to have at C1b3rWall and people will be able to try the glasses, the vest, the immersive experience and it will be very good.
And then as a complement to all that virtual part, we want people to also take away other very useful knowledge in life, such as emergency assistance technique workshops, how you can act to care for a person who is suffering from a faint, a heart attack, choking, for example
And as a novelty we also have some very special workshops: “Hack your brain”. We are going to try to help people to physically respond and relax in situations of high stress and high tension.
BLm. Attendees will want to sign up for everything.
CN. We are going to give a card to all attendees with five workshops that they have to stamp, and when they have it they take the full learning. It is going to be very good.
BLm. Is there already a number of workshops, presentations, approximate speakers?
CN. The forecast is to exceed 200 last year, we are already in contact with speakers. We have already exceeded 130 workshops and presentations. We will be around 200 speakers, and we are very happy because it is offered to us and there is tremendous interest in participating.
We have not opened a call for paperthose speakers who through their universities, companies and associations collaborating with CiberWall send us their proposals through them and we try to integrate them into the program.
BLm. Last year there were more than 5,000 attendees, this year it is expected to reach 6,000. Who is C1b3rWall for?
CN. We do not have a specific specific audience. Anyone with an interest in digital security, cybersecurity and technological development. What we try is to adapt to anyone who wants to come.
We have awareness and initiation workshops for those people who have a zero level, very low. And we have very specialized workshops for professionals who already have significant experience and who want to update themselves in a certain, very specific subject.
BLm. In addition to being received year after year by the public, CiberWall continues to receive awards from the entire industry. What is the secret of receiving this support from the public and the sector?
CN. Because C1b3rWall is not a congress like any other, more than a congress it is an experience. You are going to attend a training action, a fair and exhibitions within a context that is not usual for anyone to access.
So people are delighted to come to the National Police School, see the facilities and live in a certain way what a policeman feels when he trains. This is kilometer zero for all the National Police of Spain, and people, in addition to coming to train, love to be here and see the historic Police cars, see the workshops, see the GEO exhibits, the canine guides , of the TEDAX…
You are living something that is not usual and that is not open to everyone.
BLm. CiberWall was born in 2019, or a year before when you began to imagine and develop what was the first congress. Over time it has grown and become a true project and brand in itself with other projects such as C1b3rWall Academy. The third edition is underway, the academic year 22-23. Thousands of students have already passed through this virtual school. Do you have recent data on the participation of the last edition?
CN. We have not yet passed half of the modules in this edition, but we already have more than 56,000 registered students.
Adding the three editions, almost 160,000 registered, from 82 different countries. It is support for a training action that few sites can boast of these numbers.
BLm. All these actions have a common objective: the dissemination of the cybersecurity culture.
CN. Indeed. Our goal is to spread the culture of cybersecurity. The culture of prevention to prevent the number of victims of these cybercriminals from continuing to increase.
And also of course the integrate in the same space all the main actors from the public sector, from the academic and business sectors that fight this cybercrime, so that we can face each other. And that we can work together because it is the only way to alleviate the scourge of cybercrime.
BLm. A few weeks before the congress I feel bad asking you this, but at the same time I know that you are always thinking of new things… Is there a new project on the horizon after the congress?
CN. There is a very interesting online training project taking advantage of the momentum that C1b3rWall Academy has worldwide. We want to extend it even further.
And above all, strengthen the eSports team because it is a direct gateway to all young people who have a significant consumption of eSports and certain online media, and whose only way to reach these people to convey that message of culture of cybersecurity is through these avenues.
Registration is now open, and registration is free, through its website:
