Tenerife will host this coming Friday the 17th the international cybersecurity congress Hackron 2023. It is an already traditional forum on the Island when February arrives, which celebrates its tenth edition. The forecast is that some 400 people will attend with the Auditorium as the stage and the prominent presence of Chema Alonsor, renowned hacker and head of the digital department of Telefónica. The Cabildo and the Santa Cruz City Council presented yesterday what is one of the cybersecurity meetings most important Spanish-speaking companies in the world. It will bring together the best experts from the national and international ICT (Information Technology) security scene, in a mixed format that will include both technical workshops and keynote speeches.
“The five smallest municipalities already have digital security certificates”
The initial act of the event counted with the participation of the Vice President and Minister of the Presidency, Finance and Modernization, Berta Pérez; of the CEO of Tourism of Tenerife, David Perez; of the Councilor for Technology and Citizen Participation of the Santa Cruz City Council, Javier Rivero; and the organizer of the Congress, Igor Lukic. Pérez highlighted the importance of this event that “will bring us the latest news, threats, proposals and cybersecurity solutions.” He emphasized the idea that “in a world as technological as today’s, this issue concerns us all: public administrations, private companies and citizens in general.”
Island program.
During her speech, the island manager highlighted the cybersecurity program that the Island Corporation has been promoting, with the support of the National Cryptological Center (CCN), to help local administrations protect their communications and digital services against cyberattacks. With special attention to municipalities with less than 20,000 inhabitants. “The five smallest municipalities in Tenerife –Fasnia, Vilaflor de Chasna, El Tanque, Buenavista and Los Silos– are already certified in cybersecurity and this year we are convinced that another six will be added”. The counselor added that “of course, we will continue working with all the municipalities of the Island, because our goal is for all of them to be on the national front line in terms of digital security,” she added. Berta Pérez concluded that this is a fundamental challenge to face, not just for the future but for the present.
“We redouble our efforts to guarantee the cybersecurity of our citizens”
Relationship with tourism.
The CEO of Tourism of Tenerife, David Pérez, assured that Hackron has become a key player, “more than ever” sentence. He justifies it: “Tourist destinations are finding it increasingly difficult to avoid being victims of cyberattacks, which is why we believe it is essential to bring first-hand the latest news and trends in cybersecurity to the sector and raise awareness about such a delicate and important issue.” In this regard, David Pérez valued “the work carried out throughout the mandate to promote digitization and sustainability, which has led us to have the first Tourism Artificial Intelligence Plan in Spain.” In the same way, he recalled that the Smart Office project has already been put out to tender, “which will be the backbone of all projects related to digitization in Tenerife.” In addition, the Island has renewed its certification as a smart tourist destination.
Bet since 2013.
The councilor for Chicharrero Technology, Javier Rivero, indicated that “for us Hackron has been a firm commitment since 2013, when the first edition took place.” He added that “the City Council is very aware of the importance of cybersecurity; For this reason, throughout these years we have been taking steps and redoubling our efforts to guarantee the citizens of Santa Cruz. He added to conclude: “In 2021, in fact, we were designated as a Critical Operator of Essential Services by the National Center for Critical Infrastructures.”
The organizer.
The organizer of the congress, Igor Lukic, highlighted the presence of Chema Alonso, “one of the most publicized speakers in the technology sector, renowned hacker and head of Telefónica’s digital department”. In the same way, he referred to some specific activities of the program, such as the escape room –designed jointly by the Hackron team and Turismo de Tenerife–, as well as the Capture the flag competition. These are two computer challenges in which participants will be able to test their hacking skills. That is, those activities that seek to somehow compromise digital devices.
prestigious speakers.
In addition to Chema Alonso, experts such as Pablo López, from the National Cryptological Center; Luis Ocaña, from Extreme Networks; Salvador Sánchez, from Open Cloud Factory; José Luis Verdeguer, from CTO Zoon Suite; Claire Vacherot, from Orange France; Marc Rivero, from Karpersky; Yago Jesús, from E-Garante; Lorenzo Martínez, from Securízame; Jelena Krasojevic of ASMI; and Leandro Naranjo and Romén Quintana, from Onecyber.
Chema Alonso.
Chema Alonso has been a member of the Executive Committee of Telefónica SA since 2016 and holds the position of Chief Digital Officer of the company. In this role he leads Innovation, Data, Platforms, and Digital Products and Services; that is to say, the digitalization strategy of the sales processes of products and services, as well as of the customer relationship channels. .
The congress can also be followed, at least in part, by streaming through the event website (hackron.com). Hackron 2023 has the support of the administrations Canary Islandsas well as the National Cryptological Center, the National Cybersecurity Institute and multiple companies, especially in the telecommunications, technology and cybersecurity sector.
