Turku UAS excels in cyber competition – place in TOP 10 secured

A team of alumni and project engineers from Turku UAS has advanced to the top ten in the Critical Infrastructure Security Showdown (CISS) 2025 competition. This is already a significant achievement in the international cybersecurity competition.

The Critical Infrastructure Security Showdown is a renowned operational technology (OT) cyber exercise that measures the ability of teams to find and exploit vulnerabilities in systems.

The final will take place from 29 September to 3 October 2025. The level of competition is reflected in the fact that the TOP 10 includes top teams from Stanford University and Singapore University of Technology (SUTD), among others.

There is a great deal of excitement in the air – as there should be at a race of this level – but the team members are calm and determined.

“The cybersecurity education at Turku UAS provides good opportunities to develop in the field and to participate in similar competitions. We have gained a good basis from the practical teaching, the simulations and exercises included, and from working life,” say Joona Mäkirinta, Larri Leppäaho and Mikael Mäkirinta.

Demand for cybersecurity skills

A broad understanding of cybersecurity and critical infrastructure is a sought-after skill.

“There is a demand for skilled workers in the sector now and especially in the future. Competitions like this show how important it is to know how to protect critical infrastructure. We want to be at the forefront of this development,” say the team.

The competition is organized by iTrust, which is part of the Singapore University of Technology and Design. CISS is the university’s annual flagship exercise where teams attack critical infrastructure while discovering and exploiting vulnerabilities.

Turku UAS team reaching the finals shows that Finnish expertise in cybersecurity is at the highest international level. The “TuAMK Goblins” continue to prepare for the final, where not only victory but also visibility among the top experts in the field is at stake.