The winners of the inaugural ASEAN-Australia Codeathon have been announced today, with Project Iceberg taking out the top prize for the most innovative digital solution to combat terrorism financing and cyber security risks.

The Codeathon is a 32-hour event that brings together more than 100 technology specialists and innovators from 10 nations, including industry leaders and government partners, to address the problems of terrorism financing, money laundering and cyber threats.

Minister for Law Enforcement and Cyber Security Angus Taylor said the Codeathon drives innovation in national security, harnessing the knowledge and capability of industry and government.

“Terrorism financing is an evolving challenge, so fighting it requires innovative and sophisticated solutions that advance faster than the criminals do,” Mr Taylor said.

“To be truly effective in tackling cybercrime and terrorism financing, international collaboration that leverages expertise and new technology across various business sectors is vital.”

The Codeathon presented the following six challenges for participants to solve in 32 hours:

1. Using big data to combat terrorism financing
2. Disrupting money launderers, terrorists and cyber criminals across ASEAN-Australia
3. Exploiting financial data to gain insights into crime and terrorism risks
4. Applying artificial intelligence to improve Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) compliance and suspicious matter reporting
5. Applying blockchain technologies to improve financial services, AML compliance or secure intelligence sharing
6. Collaboration and knowledge sharing to combat cybercrime, money laundering and terrorism

The overall winners of the ASEAN-Australia Codeathon are:

• Codeathon Challenge Winner: Project Iceberg
• Codeathon Challenge Runner-Up: CryptoCollect - A project by The Cyber Six

AUSTRAC CEO Nicole Rose PSM said the judging panel found that all winners demonstrated genuine innovation and originality.

“It was incredible to see such a diverse group of people from different industries and nations come together to collaborate and partner to address these common challenges in our region,” she said.

AUSTRAC, Australia’s financial intelligence, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing agency, hosted the ASEAN-Australia Codeathon in the lead up to the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit 2018.

WINNERS:

Congratulations to our team winners of the six Codeathon challenges:

• ‘Using big data to combat terrorism financing’ – CyberEye
• ‘Disrupting money launderers, terrorists and cyber criminals across ASEAN’ – GoTrack
• ‘Exploiting financial data to gain insights into crime and terrorism risks’ – Project Iceberg
• ‘Applying artificial intelligence to improve AML/CTF compliance and suspicious matter reporting’ – Project Vision
• ‘Applying blockchain technologies to improve financial services, AML compliance or secure intelligence sharing’ – CryptoCollect - A project by The Cyber Six
• ‘Collaboration and knowledge sharing to combat cybercrime, money laundering and terrorism’ – The Longreach Platform

Congratulations to team prize winners:

• ‘Most Innovative Idea’ – FinCrime AI Alliance
• ‘Spirit of the Codeathon’ – GoTrack
• ‘Codeathon Collaboration’ – Jigsaw
• ‘Best ASEAN Codeathon Team’ – Project Vision

Many thanks to our judging panel:

• Tony Sheehan, the Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Coordinator
• Dr Maria Milosavljevic, Chief Information Security Officer, NSW Government
• Dr Alex Johnston, Head of Technology, Thomson Reuters Australia
• Alex Scandurra, CEO, Stone and Chalk
• Paul Xuereb, Secretary, Blockchain Association of Australia
• Leanne Fry, Chief Innovation Officer, AUSTRAC
• Dr John Moss, National Manager Intelligence, AUSTRAC

Thanks also to our mentors, including:

• Ally Watson and Vanessa Doake from Code-Like-a –Girl
• Mentors from our supporters, Thomson Reuters Australia and Accenture Australia
• AUSTRAC staff who supported the success of this event

This event is proudly supported by Thomson Reuters Australia and Accenture Australia.

Further information:

Minister Taylor - Alicja Rudz 0481 907 178

ASEAN-Australia Codeathon - AUSTRAC Media 02 9950 0488 or media@austrac.gov.au