The Federal Trade Commission today announced the winners of its “Zapping Rachel” robocall contest held at the DEF CON 22 hacking conference in Las Vegas Aug. 7-10.
Zapping Rachel marks the latest step in the FTC’s ongoing campaign to combat illegal, pre-recorded telemarketing calls known as robocalls. The contest challenged participants to design a robocall honeypot which is an information system designed to attract robocallers, and help law enforcement authorities, researchers, and others gain enhanced insights into robocallers’ tactics.
A total of 60 teams and individuals registered for one or more of the contest’s three phases and the agency received 13 total submissions. A panel of expert judges selected the winning entries for each of the three phases, along with two honorable mentions for the final phase.
“Congratulations to all the winners and honorable mentions of our Zapping Rachel contest,” said Jessica Rich, director, FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We were thrilled with the level of interest and participation, particularly from DEF CON attendees. We look forward to furthering our dialogue with this community on the development of robocall honeypots, and any other tools that can help win the fight against illegal robocalls.”
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