The Government delegate in Cantabria, Eugenia Gómez de Diego, received on Thursday the winners of the VI edition of the Cyberleague in Cantabria, a contest organized by the Civil Guard that seeks to promote the safe and responsible use of new technologies among 4th year students of ESO and enhance talent in cybersecurity.
In the competition, in which more than 900 students from 23 Cantabrian institutes grouped in 229 teams participated, the first place was for the IES Villajunco de Santander. The IES Lope de Vega de Santa María de Cayón has ranked second, while the IES El Astillero has obtained the third place. The students of these centers will represent Cantabria in the grand final, which will be held in March at the University Center of the Civil Guard in Aranjuez (Madrid).
During the reception, Gómez de Diego congratulated the winning teams and stressed the importance of initiatives such as the Cyberleague to "educate young people in the safe use of technology, promote vocations in cybersecurity and contribute to the fight against cybercrime". The delegate has awarded recognition diplomas to the winning students and one teacher from each participating institute.
He also highlighted the efforts of the more than 900 Cantabrian students who have joined the initiative, as well as the commitment of the Civil Guard to bring these tools closer to the youngest. "Cybersecurity is a key challenge for our society, and Cantabria demonstrates with this participation that it has a young people prepared, committed and with great talent," he concluded.
The challenge of cybercrime
During the event, the delegate took the opportunity to warn of the growing impact of cybercrime in the region, in line with what is happening at the national level. In 2023, 5,428 criminal offenses linked to computer scams were registered in Cantabria, an increase of more than 2,000% in the last 15 years.
"In the years 2010, 2011 and 2012, these figures were 210 or 230 cases per year. Now, almost one in four criminal offenses that occur in Cantabria are computer scams," explained Gómez de Diego, stressing the need to "redouble efforts in prevention and education to combat this type of crime that grows at the pace of digital transformation."
The reception, held in the Government Delegation, was also attended by the Colonel Chief of the Civil Guard in Cantabria, Antonio Orantos, and the General Director of Educational Centers and Infrastructures, Reyes Mantilla.
First steps of Cantabria in the Cyberleague
This has been the first year that Cantabria has participated in the pre-amateur Cyberleague modality, which premiered as a pilot project in 2023 in Madrid, Galicia and Castilla-La Mancha, and which in this edition has been extended to nine autonomous communities.
Through practical cyber-challenges, participants have had to solve real situations that they could encounter when browsing the Internet, such as identifying fake profiles on social networks, analyzing manipulated photographs or collecting digital evidence with open source tools.
The Cyberleague, which started in 2019 in its amateur form for university and vocational students, and which in subsequent years incorporated a professional category for members of the security forces, has been consolidated as a reference for training in cybersecurity