Heappies Team Wins II National Cyber League of the Civil Guard

Madrid, Spain - A team of talented students from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos has achieved a remarkable victory in the II National Cyber League organized by the Civil Guard, demonstrating exceptional skills in cybersecurity and digital forensics.

The Victorious Heappies Team

The winning team, known as “Heappies,” consisted of four PhD students from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos:

• Raúl Martín Santamaría - PhD student specializing in metaheuristic algorithms and cybersecurity
• Sergio Pérez Peló - PhD student focusing on optimization algorithms and graph theory
• Isaac Lozano Osorio - PhD student working on social network optimization
• Javier Yuste Moure - PhD student researching software engineering and malware analysis

About the Competition

The II National Cyber League of the Civil Guard (II Liga Nacional de Ciberdefensa de la Guardia Civil) is one of Spain’s most prestigious cybersecurity competitions. The competition challenges participants with real-world scenarios involving:

• Digital Forensics: Analyzing digital evidence and reconstructing cyber incidents
• Incident Response: Handling security breaches and cyber attacks
• Malware Analysis: Reverse engineering and understanding malicious software
• Network Security: Protecting and analyzing network infrastructure
• Cryptography: Breaking and implementing cryptographic systems

Academic Excellence in Practice

This victory showcases the exceptional quality of cybersecurity education and research at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. The team’s success demonstrates how academic research in optimization algorithms, artificial intelligence, and software engineering translates into practical cybersecurity expertise.

The Heappies team’s diverse research backgrounds contributed to their comprehensive approach to cybersecurity challenges:

• Advanced algorithm optimization techniques
• Software engineering methodologies
• Network analysis and graph theory
• Artificial intelligence applications in security

Research Group Connections

Several team members are affiliated with the GRAFO (Group for Research in Algorithms For Optimization) research group, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of modern cybersecurity challenges. Their research in metaheuristics and optimization algorithms provides unique perspectives on solving complex security problems.

Impact on Cybersecurity Education

This achievement reinforces Universidad Rey Juan Carlos’s position as a leading institution in cybersecurity education and research. The victory demonstrates the university’s commitment to:

• Combining theoretical research with practical applications
• Fostering collaborative problem-solving skills
• Preparing students for real-world cybersecurity challenges
• Contributing to national cybersecurity capabilities

Recognition and Future Implications

The Civil Guard’s recognition of the Heappies team highlights the importance of academic-industry collaboration in cybersecurity. This victory opens doors for future partnerships between university research groups and national security organizations.

The team’s success also demonstrates the value of interdisciplinary research approaches, where optimization algorithms and artificial intelligence techniques enhance traditional cybersecurity methodologies.

Continuing Excellence

This victory is part of a broader pattern of excellence in cybersecurity competitions by Universidad Rey Juan Carlos students and researchers. The success of the Heappies team paves the way for continued achievements in national and international cybersecurity competitions.

This achievement celebrates the exceptional capabilities of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos students in cybersecurity while highlighting the practical applications of their academic research in optimization and artificial intelligence.