Event Report: IEEE ISIT 2024 “Bits and Bots” Competition – Fostering Innovation and Learning through Bot Detection Challenges

The IEEE ISIT 2024 “Bits and Bots Competition” was held in conjunction with ISIT 2024 in Athens, Greece. The competition challenged participants to detect and generate bots that simulate interaction with a website in real-world scenarios, bringing attention to the growing importance of automated agent detection in web security. Seventy participants, organized into more than 12 teams from institutions across the globe, took part in the event. This was the second edition of a data science-focused competition organized by the Student and Outreach Committee of the Information Theory Society, aiming to foster innovation and practical problem-solving skills among students. The competition culminated in four teams winning the final prize and presenting their solutions during ISIT 2024. This report highlights the student experience, as well as the diverse and creative approaches developed by the four winning teams.