HACKATHON 2020

For the second year running the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre (NMPCC) will partner with AustCyber and non-profit Canadian based organisation Trace Labs to host the second Australian National Missing Persons Hackathon on Thursday 29th October 2020.

Last year The National Missing Persons Hackathon was held in October as part of Australian Cyber Week 2019 and saw over 350 participants across ten locations come together to generate more than 3900 leads for 12 national missing person cases for Australian police.

The 6-hour event was a huge success and resulted in:

• 354 participants across 96 teams
• 3912 total leads generated
• Average of 10 leads submitted by contestants every minute
• 50 volunteer judges vetting leads in real time

This year the event will once again be held during ‘Australian Cyber Week’ and due to COVID-19 restrictions, will be hosted virtually from one central location in Canberra, with members from AustCyber, AFP and the NMPCC in attendance.

Contestants will be presented with 12 Australian long-term missing person’s cases and be tasked with collecting information using their online investigative techniques. The contestants will use their cyber skills to uncover open source intelligence (OSINT) on the missing persons in a bid to gather information and leads using only publicly available information. The intention of this event is to generate new leads on the 12 cases involved and to raise awareness on the issue of missingness in Australia.

All leads identified on the missing persons will be provided to the NMPCC and further distributed to the relevant State and Territory police for investigation.

Participants can take part either individually or as part of a team of up to 4 people. Points will be awarded to contestants for each piece of information submitted on any of the missing persons that falls into one of the eligible categories. The information will be validated by a panel of volunteer judges prior to points being awarded. At the closing of the event, the top 3 teams/individuals with the most points will be awarded with a National Missing Persons Hackathon prize, which has been generously donated by a range of sponsors.

This event is a not-for-profit event and all ticket sales will be donated evenly between the Missing Persons Advocacy Network and Trace Labs.

If you have missed out on a ticket there is still the option to register for the live stream which will enable you to watch the day’s proceedings unfold in real time.

To access the live stream:

- register at https://www.cyberweek2020.austcyber.com/

- scroll through the events and add 'National Missing Persons Hackathon' to your schedule

- to access on the day, click the link provided in the email OR log into the site and go to the 'auditorium' using the link at the bottom of the page. You will then need to click on the doors of the auditorium to enter the live stream.

The live stream will begin at 10:00 (AEDT) and close at 19:00 (AEDT) on Thursday 29 October 2020.

Further information and link to tickets please visit the official Hackathon website at www.missingpersonshackathon.com.au