Civilian hackers blur the lines of modern conflict
Mauro Vignati • 13 December 2023
Hackers must be aware of their legal obligations in war
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The AI-Cybersecurity Essay Prize Competition (the “Competition”) is organized by Virtual Routes (“Virtual Routes”) in partnership with the Munich Security Conference (“MSC”). It is sponsored by Google (the “Sponsor”). By entering the Competition, participants agree to these Terms and Conditions (T&Cs).
The Competition is open to individuals worldwide who are experts in the fields of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (“AI”). Participants must ensure that their participation complies with local laws and regulations.
Essays must address the question: “How will Artificial Intelligence change cybersecurity, and what are the implications for Europe? Discuss potential strategies that policymakers can adopt to navigate these changes.”
Submissions must be original, unpublished works between 800-1200 words, excluding footnotes but including hyperlinks for references.
Essays must be submitted by 2 January 2025, 00:00 am CET., through the official submission portal provided by Virtual Routes.
Only single-authored essays are accepted. Co-authored submissions will not be considered.
Participants are responsible for ensuring their submissions do not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of third parties.
Essays will be judged based on insightfulness, relevance, originality, clarity, and evidence by a review board comprising distinguished figures from academia, industry, and government.
The decision of the review board is final and binding in all matters related to the Competition.
Prizes are as follows: 1st Place: €10,000; Runner-Up: €5,000; 3rd Place: €2,500; 4th-5th Places: €1,000 each. The winner will also be invited to attend The Munich Security Conference
The author retains ownership of the submitted essay.
By submitting the essay, the author grants Virtual Routes exclusive, royalty-free rights to use, reproduce, publish, distribute, and display the essay for purposes related to the Competition, including but not limited to educational, promotional, and research-related activities.
The author represents, warrants, and agrees that no essay submitted as part of the essay prize competition violates or infringes upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other personal or proprietary rights, breaches, or conflicts with any obligation, such as a confidentiality obligation, or contains libellous, defamatory, or otherwise unlawful material.
The author agrees that the organizers can use your name (or your pseudonym) and an image of you in association with your essay for purposes of publicity, promotion and any other activity related to the exercise of its rights under these Terms.
The organizers may remove any essay-related content from its platforms at any time and without explanation.
The organizers may block contributions from particular email or IP addresses without notice or explanation.
The organizers may enable advertising on its platforms and associated social media accounts, including in connection with the display of your essay. The organizers may also use your Material to promote its products and services.
The organizers may, at its sole discretion, categorise Material, whether by means of ranking according to popularity or by any other criteria.
Personal information collected in connection with the Competition will be processed in accordance with Virtual Routes’ Privacy Policy. Participants agree to the collection, processing, and storage of their personal data for the purposes of the Competition.
Virtual Routes, MSC, and the Sponsor will not be liable for any damages arising from participation in the Competition, except where prohibited by law.
Participants agree to indemnify Virtual Routes, MSC, and the Sponsor against any claims, damages, or losses resulting from a breach of these T&Cs.
Virtual Routes reserves the right to cancel, suspend, or modify the Competition or these T&Cs if fraud, technical failures, or any other factor beyond Virtual Routes’ reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Competition, as determined by Virtual Routes in its sole discretion.
Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Competition may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Virtual Routes reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law.
These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of the United Kingdom, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions, including any question regarding its existence, validity, or termination, shall be referred to and finally resolved by the courts of the United Kingdom. The participants agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in the United Kingdom for the resolution of all disputes arising from or related to these Terms and Conditions or the Competition.