SalentoSec is a non-profit cybersecurity community born in Lecce to create a meeting point in Salento for students, professionals, enthusiasts and people curious about information security.
The idea comes from a concrete gap: the territory has skills and interest, but lacked a recognizable space where people could meet, share experiences and learn together. SalentoSec tries to fill this gap with a practical, ethical and accessible approach.
It is a technical, free and open community built around outreach, events, resources and hands-on practice.
What It Offers
The website collects the main parts of the project: manifesto, events, resources, CTF, contacts, press kit, privacy and security page.
The manifesto explains the principles of the community: technique first, real inclusion, non-profit spirit, ethics, responsibility and attention to the territory. It also clarifies the tone of the project: no fluff, no showcase events, no aggressive selling.
The events section is designed to collect meetups, talks and local gatherings. The goal is to bring cybersecurity outside online channels too, creating opportunities to meet and learn together.
The resources section contains links, readings, labs and tools selected for those who want to start or go deeper. It is not an endless list, but a curated collection of genuinely useful material.
Educational CTF
A central part of the project is the SalentoSec CTF, an educational Capture The Flag divided into five chapters.
The path guides users through small exercises related to basic concepts of web security, encoding, browser observation and client-side code reading. It is designed to be accessible even to people who have never played a CTF before, without complex environments or unnecessary barriers.
It is not an aggressive competition and not an invitation to test the website without authorization: it is a formative puzzle, built with clear rules and designed to bring people closer to hands-on practice.
Community and Website
Telegram is the main channel of SalentoSec: announcements, discussions, technical links, events and CTF activities all pass through there.
The website was designed and written from scratch, without a CMS and without external platforms. The choice was to build a lightweight, fast, bilingual Italian/English space, consistent with the theme of the community.
Privacy and security were also handled with care: no third-party analytics, no profiling cookies, minimal data collection and dedicated pages for privacy, security and responsible disclosure.
Why I Built It
I built SalentoSec because Salento lacked a dedicated cybersecurity space, but it does not lack people. What was missing was a gathering point, a name, a website, a channel, a first reason to say: “we are here too”.
I wanted to create a concrete, local, free and practical project, capable of bringing cybersecurity closer both to people already working in the field and to those who are just starting.
SalentoSec is still at the beginning, but it already has a clear direction: creating technical culture in the territory, helping people meet and making cybersecurity closer, more understandable and more practical.
Project Status
The website is online, the community is active on Telegram and the educational CTF is already available. Events and local activities are currently being started.
Links
- Website: salentosec.org
- Telegram channel: @salentosec
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