The Secure Code Warrior Tournament was one of several events hosted by Motorola Solutions this October for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Beyond these activities, Motorola Solutions is committed to growing awareness around cybersecurity and increasing understanding.
Twenty-four hours. More than 150 global competitors. A series of vulnerable code challenges. And one all-expense paid trip to Black Hat / DEFCON – one of the world’s largest hacker conventions.
Put these together and you have Motorola Solutions’ Secure Code Warrior global tournament.
“We hosted this event to increase awareness and knowledge of cybersecurity practices across the company,” said Troy Mattern, vice president of cybersecurity for products and services. “But it was also an opportunity for developers to share their skills with one another in a fun and supportive environment.”
Participants were presented with a series of vulnerable code challenges and tasked with identifying the problem, locating the insecure code and fixing the vulnerability. As the clock ticked down, competitors earned points and tracked their progress on a global leaderboard.
Cracking the code in just 47 minutes, Christian Madularu, principal software engineer from Gatineau, Canada; came out on top, followed by Piotr Furman from Krakow, Poland; and KamLeong Lai, from Penang, Malaysia.
“When I heard that Motorola Solutions was organizing a company-wide competition, I encouraged all my teammates to participate because I knew it would be a great learning experience,” said Madularu. “The events this month have highlighted the importance of security. In our industry, a compromised product or system can mean the difference between life and death. We owe it to our customers and the public to make security a priority.”
