Observant podcast, episode 8: exploring digital boundaries and capturing the virtual flag

What’s allowed — and what isn’t — when you break into a computer system? Is ethical hacking possible? And how far can you go in exploring the digital boundaries? These are some of the questions a group of about ninety students of Maastricht University has been tackling since this year. They’ve come together to form MaaSec, currently the only Dutch chapter under the banner of the ACM, the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society.

Since its founding, MaaSec has been making waves: the group was nominated for the UM Student Prize 2025 and has been excelling in so-called Capture the Flag competitions, says Andrei Vişoiu, a third-year bachelor's student of Computer Science and one of the driving forces behind MaaSec. “We want students to stay curious and creative when it comes to cybersecurity and computer science. Explore what’s possible, but always stay within the boundaries of what’s possible and allowed.”