On May 20, at the Computer Institute of the Fluminense Federal University (UFF), in Niterói, the first Cybergame of the Hackers do Bem Program took place. Organized by the National Education and Research Network (RNP), with technical support from RUSTCON and CAIS/RNP and sponsorship from Google, the event had 700 participants and aimed to test and improve the competitors' cybersecurity knowledge.

The Cybergame was part of the 25th RNP Workshop (WRNP) and the 42nd Brazilian Symposium on Computer Networks and Distributed Systems (SBRC) and, to participate in the awards ceremony, it was necessary to be registered in one of the events. The competition was structured as an online quiz, in which participants had to answer as many questions as possible correctly in the shortest amount of time. With five quizzes of 20 questions each, the challenge covered topics such as OWASP, Social Engineering, DevSec, Defense Techniques and Network Security.

The competition started at 9 am and ended at 5:30 pm. On the main stage of the WRNP and with a live broadcast for those registered online, the preliminary ranking with the 15 classifieds was announced, to be confirmed after the analysis of compliance with the competition rules. The 15 best placed were awarded gift cards, sponsored by Google, with values ​​ranging from R$200.00 to R$1,500.00, according to their position in the ranking.

Of the top three finishers in the Cybergame, two were women. First place went to Marcia Gabrielle Bonifácio de Oliveira, from the Federal University of Roraima, second place went to Thales Frazão Leite, from the Federal University of Itajubá, and third place went to Suerlene Kézia Medeiros de Souza, from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. 

Winner Marcia Gabrielle reported that participating in the first Hackers do Bem Cybergame was a wonderful experience. She had previously participated in one of the program's events, the first Capture the Flag, which took place in March of this year, and says that she identified more with the Cybergame's quiz format, in which she was able to use her theoretical knowledge. 

“This quiz, which focuses on theory, made me feel more comfortable. When I started the challenge, it took me a while to understand how it worked. But once I got the hang of it, it flowed well, even on my phone. As I’m delving deeper into the world of cybersecurity, events like this are essential for developing skills and highlighting the importance of this field. I’m very happy to have come in first place and I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate,” she said. 

Cybergame is part of the Hackers do Bem program, an initiative carried out in partnership by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), SOFTEX, SENAI SP and RNP, which offers free training in cybersecurity, regardless of the level of experience.