Lloyds Banking Group, the platform Hack The Box, and Google Cloud Security were the hosts of a first UK financial services security hackathon. Matt Rowe, Chief Security Officer of Lloyds Banking Group, said: โThis event demonstrated how simulated real-life exercises help organisations strengthen defensive capabilities, improve readiness under pressure, and build stronger collaboration across the wider financial services ecosystem. In a highly connected sector, resilience depends not only on individual organisations, but on how effectively we prepare and respond together.โ
The winning pair – a machine learning engineer and a senior penetration tester – was โNine Lives With Zero Daysโ. Some 33 pairs came from 16 organisations. The competition – under time pressure – ranged over web exploitation, digital forensics, OSINT (open source intelligence) investigations, cryptography and payment systems security. The aim over two days: to uncover vulnerabilities and secure systems.
Nikos Fountas, Chief Operating Officer of Hack The Box, said: โCybersecurity is not just about what teams know, it is about what they can do when it matters most. Exercises like this move organisations from static training to proving real-world readiness. They prepare security professionals, test judgment under pressure, and benchmark performance against peers across the industry.
โAs AI becomes more capable, the human element is still critical. It is much like chess. Although machines can outperform humans, people continue to study and play because the value lies in the thinking process – the pattern recognition, creativity, and decision-making. In cybersecurity, it is these instincts and the ability to make the right decisions under pressure that ultimately strengthen resilience.โ
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