CYBATHLON including CYBATHLON 2020 Global Edition format was initiated by ETH Zurich. Through CYBATHLON, ETH Zurich demonstrates what research and development mean for society. Since the idea was born in 2013, more than 100 teams from over 30 countries have taken part in CYBATHLON competitions. In recent years the development teams have shown which obstacles people with disabilities face in their everyday lives and how technology can contribute to overcoming these barriers.
In Russia Cybathletics Union (the Union of Developers and Suppliers of Technical Means of Rehabilitation) with the support of Kaspersky Lab organized Russian Hub on CYBATHLON 2020. Cybathletics, new kind of sports based on the ethos of humanism is coming forth. It brings together people with disabilities who use rehabilitation devices to perform their daily tasks and the manufacturers of these advanced arm and leg prostheses, wheelchairs, exoskeletons and neurointerfaces. Every four years, people with disabilities from all over the world and their aiding pieces of equipment are tried and tested at the CYBATHLON Edition. The international competition for the sake of equity and inclusion apparently demonstrates that in the future, man and technology would be united in a single bionic world. And this world needs protection. From cyber threats and hacker exploits, among other things.
Kaspersky Lab, the world’s leading private company specializing in the development of software solutions for IT security, is committed to ensuring both the safety of cybathletes participating in competitions and their rehabilitation devices. In 2020, the company bankrolled the cybathletics team thus enabling the participation of Russia in CYBATHLON. Owing to COVID-19, the championship was staged remotely, with each participating country performing at their home venues. The championship was the first ever online tournament that assembled 51 countries of the globe.
Kaspersky Lab also signed a memorandum of cooperation with Cybathletics Union, offering the company’s unrivalled solutions and expertise in countering cyber threats. In the long run, this would help create a safe environment for unleashing the full potential of such solutions. Thus, Kaspersky Lab has become the first IT company globally to assert their readiness to enter the new future when everyone would be able to wield the real superpower.
