The IMDEA Software Institute hosted the twentieth edition of the REDIMadrid Conference on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, an event that brought together the scientific and technological community of the region to celebrate the anniversary of this network infrastructure, which connects research, educational, and innovation institutions across the Community of Madrid.
The event gathered 90 in-person attendees and 30 virtual participants, serving as a meeting point to discuss current challenges and future perspectives for the network.
Marina Villegas, Director General for Research and Technological Innovation of the Community of Madrid, and Antonio Fernández, Deputy Director of the IMDEA Software Institute, opened the conference. In their speeches, they highlighted the role of REDIMadrid as an essential communication hub linking universities and public and private entities to foster scientific progress. During the opening session, the organization’s ongoing efforts were emphasized, including its uninterrupted service during the nationwide blackout that affected Spain earlier this year.
The first session of presentations began with César Sánchez, Research Professor at IMDEA Software and Director of REDIMadrid, who delivered a talk titled “The State of REDIMadrid: Present and Future”. In his presentation, he provided an overview of the network’s evolution and noted that the project has now entered a phase of stability, focusing on service provision and security improvement.
The day continued with a session dedicated to network infrastructure. Juan Quemada (Polytechnic University of Madrid) recalled the 40th anniversary of Spain’s first Internet connection. Later, representatives from Juniper/Axians, Ana Risueño and José Lucas, discussed the role of artificial intelligence in network management in their talk “Agentic AI: From Orchestration to Autonomy”, while Rolando González from Ruijie delivered a presentation on “The Future of the Smart Campus”.
In the same session, Alberto Compañ and Juan Manuel Bolaño (CSIC) explained the “Use of Free Network Monitoring Tools”, including Zabbix, Oxidized, and Netdisco; Alberto Sebastián (UPM) presented “An Overview of Quantum Communications for Madrid”; and Shadi Motaali (UAM) closed the block with his talk “BGP Buster”.
The second part of the conference focused on network security. Juan Caballero, researcher at IMDEA Software, presented “All your (data)base are belong to us: Characterizing Database Ransom(ware) Attacks”, in which he analyzed database attacks that often turn out to be scams without actual malware. Then, Pablo Molinero shared strategies for protecting telecommunications networks from advanced attacks, and Aniketh Girish (IMDEA Networks) concluded the event with his talk “Your Signal, Their Data”, discussing privacy risks.
The following day, REDIMadrid’s member institutions reconvened at IMDEA Software to review objectives, challenges, and prospects for the coming year.
