The overarching goal was to promote fair trade
between E.Africa and Europe where data privacy
and cyber security are paramount for business. On
January 10th 2019 the project kicked off by
training selected partners from four of the East
African countries (Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda &
Tanzania). The training was spearheaded by
Martin Eiszner(CTO -Sec Consult Group and
Co-founder of OWASP) and Emmanuel Hebe(Prod-
uct Manager Sec Consult Singapore) & Torsten
Toellner (SEC Consult Deutschalnd gmbh MD) as
the godfather of the project overseeing the
implementation and success of the project.
The initial step was to change mindset of the
participants on developing effective cyber
defense methodologies. The trainers took the
participants through the Cyber Attack Kill Chain
and at every step they were challenged to think
like a hacker so as to develop effective counter-
measures. The simulated training environment
further provided a playing field for participants to
exercise and to be creative as they keep the
attacker at bay. In addition, interactions and
engagements within the 10 days of training
provided a platform to discuss cyber security
challenges in the region.
All participants were in agreement that an alliance
was required for the team to make an impact in
addressing cyber security challenges. The
partners were required to offer the cyber defense
simulation training to their clients back home.
Cyber
Security
Safari
Nairobi, Kigali, Kampala, Dar
East Africa is a rich region with young people
who are passionate about cyber security. The
millennials are so eager to learn so that they can
contribute positively in their economies as well
as secure the cyberspace. In addition, both
public and private sectors are in agreement that
there is need for capacity building for the region
to address the cybercrime epidemic. A report by
Palo Alto Research Center 2017 reported that
65% of organizations have shortage of IT staff
dedicated to cyber security. In East Africa the
picture is dooming as representatives of organi-
zations represented concurred with the report
but even indicated that those who were respon-
sible for Cyber Security had other responsibilities
due to lean IT teams. Hands-on training with
simulated environments gives a real picture of a
cyber incident and participants no only use their
technical skills but a lot of analytic skills is
required to manage a cyber incident.
The only way
to grow is to
let yourself
make
mistakes
– Nikki Giovani