During the bootcamp, the crypto team achieved an impressive third place in CryptoCTF 2025, an international competition focused solely on cryptography, which included 364 teams from around the world. The bootcamp’s finalist team also secured seventh place in L3akCTF 2025, a competition that featured 1,581 international teams.

The 10 young talents who will represent Portugal at the European Cybersecurity Challenge 2025 (ECSC2025) in Warsaw, Poland, from 6 to 10 October, have now been selected among seniors from the following educational institutions:

• Instituto Superior Técnico;
• KTH Royal Institute of Technology;
• Porto University
• Minho University 

Additionally, juniors from the following institutions were selected:

• Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP);
• EPITA – École pour l’informatique et les techniques avancées;
• Escola Básica e Secundária Quinta das Flores;
• Instituto Superior Técnico.

The success of this initiative, which promotes national cybersecurity talent, was possible thanks to the active participation of the young people, the coaches, and subject experts who selected, and will accompany, the Portuguese team members to ECSC2025, as well as thanks to the support from the cybersecurity incubator “The Rock” and the Municipality of Gouveia.

The CSCPT2025 is promoted by the National Cybersecurity Centre, in partnership with Instituto Superior Técnico, the University of Porto, the Portuguese Association for the Promotion of Information Security (AP2SI), and the Portuguese Safer Internet Centre.

Find more information about the work of the Portuguese Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline, and youth participation services, or find similar information for other Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.