The Federal Trade Commission is launching two new robocall contests challenging the public to develop a crowd-source honeypot and better analyze data from an existing honeypot.
A honeypot is an information system that may be used by government, private and academic partners to lure and analyze robocalls. The challenges are part of the FTCs long-term multi-pronged effort to combat illegal robocallers and contestants of one of the challenges will compete for $25,000 in a top prize.
As part of
The FTC also will host a new data analytic contest,
In 2012, the FTC launched its first market-stimulation contest, the
"Were using many strategies to fight robocalls, including law enforcement, education, and crowd-sourced innovation," said Jessica Rich, director, FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Following the success of our previous robocall challenges, were once again seeking expertise from the public to put a new tool in consumers hands, and to develop technology to help law enforcement and other partners investigate these calls."
Up to five contestants from Robocalls: Humanity Strikes Back will be selected from the qualifying phase and move on in the competition to a final round, competing for a top prize of $25,000 at DEF CON in Las Vegas. Up to two honorable mentions may be awarded $10,500 and each remaining finalist may also be eligible for $2,000 for a total of $50,000 in cash prizes.
Contestants who are interested in participating in DetectaRobo are encouraged to join a hackathon near them on June 6 or participate in the FTCs contest virtually. Each contestant will be given data from an existing honeypot and must develop an algorithm that identifies which calls in the data are likely robocalls. The FTC will kick off registration for DetectaRobo on National Day, and will conclude the contest on June 7. Registration will be limited to the first 50 contestants.
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