The Nigeria Customs Service NCS has demonstrated exceptional performance, coming tops at the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS Cybersecurity Hackathon 2024 competition. The event, organised by ECOWAS in partnership with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, and the National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA, brought together cybersecurity professionals across West Africa.

Deputy Comptroller General DCG of the service/ICT Modernisation, Kikelomo Adeola said the event was held in two phases. The competition, she explained, aims 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.

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

According to Chief Superintendent of Customs, Abubakar Mustapha Jauro, who led the NCS team competing against 340 teams from ECOWAS member states, the Nigerian team was able to secure an impressive 1,100 points, displaying notable expertise in cryptography, steganography, reverse engineering, web exploitation, and binary analysis.

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.

As the second phase approaches, anticipation builds for the final leg of the competition, where the best teams will be identified and recognized for their cybersecurity prowess.