Nigeria Customs Shines at ECOWAS Cybersecurity Hackathon 2024
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has emerged as a standout contender at the ECOWAS Cybersecurity Hackathon 2024, showcasing its technical expertise and resilience in the highly competitive event.
The hackathon, organised by ECOWAS in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), brought together top cybersecurity professionals from across West Africa.
Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, ICT/Modernisation, Kikelomo Adeola, highlighted that the event is structured in two phases aimed at identifying the region’s best cybersecurity teams.
In the first phase, participants engaged in an online Capture the Flag (CTF) competition through the Sec-Dojo platform, with challenges ranging from cryptography to reverse engineering, steganography, web exploitation, and binary analysis. This phase ran from 6th August to 31st August 2024.
The second phase, set to be held in Abuja from 14th to 16th October 2024, will feature an in-person CTF competition, where teams will further showcase their skills in a collaborative cross-border environment.
Adeola praised the NCS teams for their outstanding performance, stating, “The NCS teams’ performance reflects their strategic thinking and resilience in tackling complex cybersecurity challenges.”
Leading the NCS team was Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC) Abubakar Mustapha Jauro, who proudly reported that the team secured an impressive 1,100 points, competing against 340 teams from ECOWAS member states.
Despite working with lower-spec hardware such as Intel Core i5 processors with 8GB RAM, the team effectively utilised industry-standard tools like Kali Linux, BurpSuite, and Metasploit to achieve success.
Jauro stressed that the event not only honed the officers’ technical skills but also highlighted the importance of regional cooperation in fortifying cybersecurity frameworks.
“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,” he stated.
With the second phase of the competition fast approaching, anticipation is building as the best teams in West Africa prepare to compete in Abuja.
The NCS hopes that continued investment and support will further enhance its role in safeguarding Nigeria’s cyberspace, contributing to the broader effort to secure the region against growing cyber threats.
