Cyber champ

Santiago Ayala's first experience with the Digital Forensics and Incident Response NetWars competition was in 2013. He was at a security and digital investigations conference in Las Vegas, with more than 2,000 computer security experts. He entered the competition on something of a whim and wound up tied for first place.

When he entered again for the 2016 conference, he brought not only his skills, but also a little superstition. “I sat in the same spot as 2013 and wore the same T-shirt,” he quips.

The good-luck gestures paid off: Ayala won the competition. “I am not a special person,” he says. “I just pay a lot of attention to details.”