Hack the Hague

An awesome event like Hâck The Hague is bound to grab attention in the media. How many municipalities and organisations voluntarily allow their systems to be hacked? Not that many, and definitely not by 200 hackers at the same time! From interviews with hackers, to articles about the competition. We have summarised the most remarkable coverage for you in this blog post. 

The Hague, 27 September 2021 – Today the digital infrastructure of the municipality of The Hague was scrutinised by 206 ethical national and international hackers. Among the 125 reported vulnerabilities were; unsafe access to accounts, outdated software, the ability to inject malicious code into a website and an account that could be taken over completely.

We have planned an exciting programme for Hâck The Hague that will air on 27 September. Expect fun podcasts and videos about cybersecurity in all shapes and sizes. We tested citizens of The Hague on their knowledge of cybersecurity and held exclusive interviews with both professional and student hackers. What will they share? Here's a sneak peak. 

I-REAL creëert het Internet of Things voor de publieke sector door beheerders toegang te geven tot objecten die bijdragen aan de afvoer van water. Hun product, I-REALM2M, wordt ook ingezet door de gemeente Den Haag om elementen in de waterketen en de publieke infrastructuur te monitoren, controleren en administreren. René Kroes, Product Owner H2gO bij I-REAL geeft aan waarom Hâck the Hague een welkome aanvulling is op de activiteiten die zij ondernemen om de veiligheid van hun software te verbeteren. Read article in English

We are thrilled to introduce you to the jury panel of Hâck The Hague 2021. A careful selection has been made to include professionals of different backgrounds and areas of expertise. They are up to the challenge to review and evaluate vulnerabilities that will be disclosed during the competition, and reward those that made stand-out discoveries. But that’s not all our incredible judges will be up to. They will write personal recommendation letters for all student hacker that participate at Hâck The Hague to help them kick-start their career in cybersecurity. Have we made you curious yet?

Previous experiences thought us that you don't have to be an experienced hacker to successfully compete at Hâck The Hague. You definitely don’t have to know everything about all the tools and technologies, a basic knowledge can suffice. What's most important is to play on your strengths. Every person has a unique way of looking at things and can find vulnerabilities that others overlook. Rely on your own skills and creativity and use the tricks you know well.

I-REAL creates the Internet of Things for the public infrastructure, allowing administrators and operators to manage objects that contribute to discharging water. Their product, REALM2M, is also being used by the municipality of The Hague who remotely monitors, controls, administers and manages the water chain with this application, traffic information signs and other objects of the public infrastructure. René Kroes, Product Owner at I-REAL, explains why their yearly participation in Hâck The Hague is welcomed as another opportunity to enhance the digital security of their software. Read the article in Dutch

In his quest of getting to know the hacking community, Chris van ‘t Hof decides to interview a number of hackers. Jorik Berkepas is the third bug hunter in this series.

In his quest of getting to know the hacking community, Chris van ‘t Hof decides to interview a number of hackers. The second bug hunter in this series is Erik van Oosbree.