Winning the METI Minister Award at the 21st Information Crisis Management Contest

A student team from Shizuoka University's Faculty of Informatics, 'IT Solution Lab_Genkotsu', won the METI Minister Award (first place) at the 21st Information Crisis Management Contest held in Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture, from May 21 to 23.

This marks the first time in six years, since the 15th contest, that a team from Shizuoka University has received the METI Minister Award.

This contest is held annually in conjunction with the 'Shirahama Symposium on Cyber Crime' in Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture, with the goal of fostering information security talent.

Participating teams act as security consultants for client companies, responding in real-time to incidents occurring in the client's systems with speed and accuracy.

Teams are required to identify causes, contain incidents, report to stakeholders, create reports, and propose long-term solutions. Evaluation is based on overall field response capabilities, including not only technical skills but also client communication and report quality.

This year, out of 25 teams from universities and vocational schools across Japan, five teams—Shizuoka University, Yokohama National University, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Osaka Institute of Technology, and Kobe University—advanced through online qualifiers, the first preliminary round in April, and the second preliminary round in May to compete in the final on the 22nd.

The members are as follows:
Minato Takashima (3rd year, Dept. of Information Science, Faculty of Informatics)
Haruto Takahashi (2nd year, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Information Science Major)
Akihito Kawaguchi (1st year, Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Information Science Major)
Ryota Saito (4th year, Dept. of Behavioral Informatics, Faculty of Informatics)