Oracle Academy supports research in cybersecurity by Italian university students at Clusit conference

In June 2023, Oracle Academy was pleased to support the 18th edition of the Thesis of 2022 Tesi Prize, “Innovation in Information Security,” in association with Clusit. Established with the aim of research and continuous updating of resources in relation to cybersecurity, the annual event aims to encourage master’s and PhD students to research topics of cybersecurity and IT security issues in a dynamic manner and with a view of the evolution of new and potential cyber threats. The event also is an opportunity for exchange between the global world of research and science, students and that of working professionals, promoting collaboration between universities and companies for training and professional growth.

Roberta Battagli, Oracle Academy Program Manager in Italy, took part in the event. The students’ work was assessed and judged by a commission composed of members of Clusit and other experts in the field.

The evaluation criteria were:

• The innovative nature of the subject
• The complexity of the activity
• The level of knowledge demonstrated
• The usability of the results achieved

The first prize was presented by Battagli to the winning student, Matteo Protopapa, Politecnico di Torino, for his research entitled: “Automatic Differential Cryptanalysis of the SPECK Block Cipher with Monte Carlo Tree Search.”

The second prize (ex aequo) went to Marco Alecci, University of Padua, for the project “Assessment of the Blocking Cards Effectiveness in Protecting Mifare Classic Smart Card.” Smart cards using proximity communication protocols are in our portfolios and, thanks to this interesting experimental work, we can knowingly choose the right defenses against their intrinsic vulnerabilities.

Third prize went to Riccardo Cestaro, University of Padua, for the project “Reversing, Analyzing, and Attacking Xiaomi’s Electric Scooter Ecosystem.”

Electric monopaths have populated our cities, and the approach used for research and exploitation of various important vulnerabilities, in particular for one of the industry's market leaders, is extremely current and interesting, even for the manufacturer!

The fourth prize went to Manuel Ivagnes, University of Rome, “La Sapienza,” for the project “Lightweight Real-Time Ransomware Detection with Native OS Assistance ETW.” Who doesn't want to have a security system that identifies ransomware at the initial stages of the infection, before it has caused the damage for which it is designed?

The fifth prize went to Egon Galvani, University of Padua, for the project “FairDrop: A Confidential Fair Exchange Protocol for Media Workers.” Helping journalists to maintain anonymity of their work in areas of conflict and oppression is an element that can make a difference between life and death. This interesting approach proposed a basis for sensitive improvements in this area.

Oracle Academy is proud to support this project as an associate member by providing Oracle Academy free curriculum and associated member benefits such as the Oracle Academy Cloud Program and learning resources to participating member universities.

You can find further information and full details on the awards here.