Italian hackers triumph at Hack-A-Sat and win $50,000

The "Hack-A-Sat" computer competition organized by Def Con, the renowned hacker conference held in Las Vegas, recently concluded its 2023 edition. This exciting event saw the participation of five groups of hackers from all the world, including the Italian team Mhackeroni.

The Italian hackers win the competition and get a prize of 50,000 dollars

The Italian team of hackers, known as Mhackeroni, demonstrated their expertise and ingenuity, placing first in the "Hack-A-Sat" competition. The prestigious award was accompanied by a cash prize of $50,000 from the Department of Space Defense and the United States Air Force. It is important to underline that all the actions carried out by the Italian hackers were legal and authorized by the authorities, as the objective was to test the security of the Moonlighter satellite, specially placed into orbit by the American government.

The Moonlighter satellite as a security test target

The US government has entrusted the mission of testing the security systems of the Moonlighter satellite to the participants of the "Hack-A-Sat" competition. The project was conceived with the intention of identifying and fixing any security holes. The initiative was welcomed by IT experts from various parts of the world, including finalist groups from Italy, Poland, Switzerland, Germany and the United States.

An Italian cybersecurity expert among the winners

The winning team of the "Hack-A-Sat" competition proved to be led by a major figure in the field of cybersecurity. Stefano Zanero, full professor at the Politecnico di Milano, provided his expertise as a member of the Italian Mhackeroni team. Zanero is unanimously recognized as one of the most authoritative Italian experts in the field of IT security. The victory of the Italian team certainly helped to further consolidate Italy's reputation in the field of cybersecurity and ethical hacking.