MoD hack event will strengthen UK security

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will host a deep web hacking event next week in an effort to boost the UK's national security.

MODHack will take place at Wallacespace in London and will be hosted by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and Knowledge Transfer Network departments of the MoD.

The ministry said the goal of the event is to help innovate better ways to uncover and share information about potential threats, so users of its Catalysing Defence Innovation through Science and Technology project are able to access the most reliable information faster.

Additionally, data scientists will be able to organise and search subsets of information that are "relevant to their individual interests."

This will ensure content and information can be discovered, extracted and retrieved more effectively.

"MODHack is a unique opportunity to collaborate with software developers, data scientists and innovators to develop ideas and solutions for mining of the deep web, using a range of open source tools and services, and to build something that has the potential to support the national security of the UK," the MoD said.

"Today's web searches use a centralised, one-size-fits-all approach that searches the internet with the same set of tools for all queries. While that model has been wildly successful commercially, it does not work well for many government cases."

Those coming up with the most innovative solutions will be awarded for their coding and concepts and anything developed at the event will remain the intellectual property of the developer. Anything the MoD thinks could prove useful may receive further guidance to make them a reality.

Clare Hopping
Freelance writer

Clare is the founder of Blue Cactus Digital, a digital marketing company that helps ethical and sustainability-focused businesses grow their customer base.

Prior to becoming a marketer, Clare was a journalist, working at a range of mobile device-focused outlets including Know Your Mobile before moving into freelance life.

As a freelance writer, she drew on her expertise in mobility to write features and guides for ITPro, as well as regularly writing news stories on a wide range of topics.