Bitdefender Team Captures Podium at Prestigious Capture The Flag Competition in Japan

Once again, we approach the end of the year with great news. All the way from Tokyo.

The Romanian team PwnThyBytes, which consists of Bitdefender professionals, ranked third at Trend Micro CTF 2018 – Raimund Genes Cup, an annual competition designed to help fill cybersecurity skills gaps in critical areas, receiving high praise from judges.

This prize recognizes the vast knowledge Bitdefender experts have gained in areas such as cybercrime analysis, targeted attacks, the Internet of Things (IoT), SCADA and open source intelligence (OSINT).

Bitdefender also received the Top individual contributor award, won by a member of team PwnThyBytes.

The competition invites teams from around the world to compete, strengthening the talent of industry professionals.

With almost half of its employees working in research and development, Bitdefender now has the highest percentage of R&D staff in the security industry. Bitdefender’s team of engineers and researchers reached the 600+ milestone this year.

The company invests a quarter of its R&D budget in disruptive ideas. Artificial intelligence and machine-learning have become key drivers of innovation, boosting the number of patents. Bitdefender has received 48 patents issued for core technologies in the past three years alone. Another 28 are currently filed for examination. Bitdefender holds patents in all major areas of interest: machine-learning, antispam/anti-phishing/antifraud, antimalware, virtualization, BOX-functionality, and hardware design, among others.