The College of Islamic Studies (CIS) will stage the Empower Cyber-Akhlaq Competition, which takes a look at cyberspace through the lens of ethics and morality.

This student competition invites applicants to produce a video that aspires to raise awareness of the ethical dimension of cyberspace and cybersecurity. Applicants are encouraged to share a story, narration, or any other creative endeavor that illustrates the role and importance of non-technical dimensions, such as ethics, education, and security, and the need for a ‘moral compass’, in tackling challenges emanating from cyberspace.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) will deliver the first international Fake News Detection Contest.
 
Fake news, misinformation, and disinformation have become defining aspects of the information climate in the 21st century. While such phenomena have existed for centuries, the rise of social and digital media has sparked a debate about the relevance of fake news as an emergent cybersecurity threat. Fake news and disinformation has been at the forefront of foreign interference and private sector manipulation of state politics. The revelations about Cambridge Analytica and other actors is most likely the tip of a much larger iceberg.

Like all security threats, fake news and its deployment is constantly evolving, requiring cutting-edge and adaptive solutions. The Digital Humanities team at CHSS is exploring and tackling such phenomena from a holistic and global perspective.

The College of Science and Engineering (CSE) will organize the Qatar International Hacking Contest (QINETHIC).

This interactive, scenario-based contest will see individuals, organized as teams, engage in ethical hacking activities. The contest represents a unique opportunity in Qatar, the region, and worldwide, to experience real hacking activities in two different business sectors: critical infrastructure and healthcare.

Participants will have the opportunity to propose four devices: two for critical infrastructure and two for healthcare. The organizers will have the responsibility of evaluating the proposed devices and provide feedback. All of the approved devices will be purchased specifically for the event.

QINETHIC will consist of morning and afternoon sessions for each of the first two days. The first day will be dedicated to critical infrastructure, while the second day will be dedicated to healthcare devices. All the devices approved by the organizers will be made available to the groups during the sessions. The goal of the contest is to find as many vulnerabilities as possible: each team can set in place whatever tool and software they choose to hack the devices.

The College of Law (CL) will host a Cybersecurity Moot Competition.
 
Participants from eight law schools from around the world will present an oral argument in a simulated court proceeding before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. 

The hypothetical problem will involve cyber attacks on State A, carried out by an entity with very close ties to State B, and possibly affiliated with State C. The attacks, launched from private computers located on State B’s soil, consist of ransomware targeting citizens and critical infrastructure (airports, ports, rail, etc.) and healthcare-related facilities of State A, as well as cyber espionage of State A’s national security services.

The College of Health and Life Sciences will host a competition to raise awareness about the importance of securing genetic data.

Selected teams  will represent their universities while two non-academic teams will compete for their companies, each consisting of three members. Travel and housing expenses will be covered for all contestants.

For this competition, the primary CHLS faculty will be genotyped using the IIllumina Infinium Global Screening Array-24. The genotype data will be de-identified and provided to the contestants after encryption.

The competing teams will have to identify the genome associated with each faculty member by comparing genetic data to the faculties’ biography available on the college’s webpage. Additional information about the country of origin of faculty members will be provided. Each team will have access to one GPU-based machine for data decryption and two CPU-based machines for genotype analysis.

Competing teams will receive the encrypted data on the first day of the contest. They will have to decrypt (unlock) the data and then match the genotype to the right person. Teams will be ranked based on the number of correct matches provided.