NCS Excels at ECOWAS Cybersecurity Hackathon

BY FUNMI ALUKO

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has demonstrated exceptional performance at the ECOWAS Cybersecurity Hackathon 2024, emerging as a top contender in the competition. The event, organised by ECOWAS in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), brought together cybersecurity professionals across West Africa.

According to DCG, ICT/Modernization Kikelomo Adeola, the event which is being held in two phases aim to identify the top cybersecurity teams in the region.

“In Phase 1, participants engaged in an online Capture the Flag (CTF) competition via the Sec-Dojo platform, with labs released from August 6 to August 31, 2024. Phase 2, scheduled for October 14-16, 2024, will take place in Abuja, Nigeria, featuring an in-person CTF competition designed to foster cross-border collaboration and assess advanced cybersecurity skills”, Adeola said.

“The NCS teams’ performance reflects their strategic thinking and resilience in tackling complex cybersecurity challenges,” she stated.

CSC Abubakar Mustapha Jauro, who led the NCS team competing against 340 teams from ECOWAS member states, added that the NCS secured an impressive 1,100 points, displaying notable expertise in cryptography, steganography, reverse engineering, web exploitation, and binary analysis.

He explained that despite using lower-spec hardware, such as Intel Core i5 processors with 8GB RAM, the NCS teams excelled with tools like Kali Linux, BurpSuite, and Metasploit.

Their success underscores the need for better resources to further enhance their technical capabilities.

“The ECOWAS Cybersecurity Hackathon has not only sharpened the skills of NCS officers but also emphasized the importance of regional collaboration in strengthening our cybersecurity framework,” Jauro noted. With continued investment and support, the NCS is poised to play a crucial role in protecting Nigeria’s cyberspace”, Jauro noted.

He disclosed that the NCS team looks forward to the concluding phase with great optimism.

“As the second phase approaches, anticipation is high where the best teams will be identified and recognized for their cybersecurity prowess.”