As part of the implementation of National Cyber Security Capacity Building Program and responding to the identified skills gap, a workshop dubbed CyberStars was held in Kigali, where over 400 students engaged in a competition to come up with different solutions to bolster cyber security in different domains. The competition was organised by the Ministry of Information, Technology and Communications (MITEC) and Rwanda Information Society Authority, RISA, in collaboration with Silensec. According to a statement, the competition targeted ICT students in universities and software solutions will be developed in the domains of; Ethical Hacking (attackers), Intrusion Detection and Security Monitoring (defenders), Computer Forensics (Responders) which will help the Government to protect its cyber space. “The students were exposed to real activities related to cyber operations in the different domains which will develop the need of doing research and practical hands on exercises to better respond to the Cyber Security need of the country. Highlighting the importance of the CyberStars Competition, Chief Executive Officer of RISA, Innocent Bagamba Muhizi, said: “From leaked passwords to identity theft, cyber security issues are always in the news. With this competition, we are creating awareness and building capacity by developing the next generation of cyber security experts who will ensure that as individuals, our businesses/data, our governments are operating in a secure cyber environment.” The main purpose of this competition is to enhance national expertise in practical cybersecurity operations and reduction of the human capacity gap in cybersecurity field and leasing awareness. “This competition is important to the government and the people of Rwanda as it helps create human capacity that will secure businesses and the country from cyber-attacks. Through the competition and with the support of media, we shall be able to inform the public on basic steps to protect their cyber space whenever they use internet to socialize or transact businesses” emphasized Dr Almerindo Grazian, the CEO of Silensec who has massive expertise in Information Security system. Currently, the CyberStars competition operates within seven countries from the Middle East (Oman, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Irak, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen) where the campaign has been received well, and the finalists already awarded. With this initiative, Rwanda is also the first country in East Africa and one of the few in the entire African continent to organise a national cybersecurity competition. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
