NaijaSecCon’17 beams focus on latest IT security attacks, prevention techniques

…unveils plans for ethical hackathon at conference

 

The growing cyber security challenges globally, which West Africa and by extension, Nigeria are not immune to will be the focus of Security Conference 2017 (NaijaSecCon’17) which is being convened to educate participants on the techniques being deployed by hackers.

Described as “Nigeria’s first-of-its-kind cyber-security conference”, it will educate participants through technical content delivered by ethical hackers and security experts.

Rotimi Akinyele, on expectations at the conference, said that NaijaSecCon’17 will unveil the latest cyber attacks, techniques and tactics used by today’s hackers and demonstrate ways for participants to protect their networks and critical data.

“Whether you’re a large corporation or a small business, you should attend this mind-blowing event.

“Consequently, the NaijaSecCon17 hosts as part of its maiden ‘Cyber security Conference, a Capture The Flag (CTF) Competition’”.

The CTF competition, Akinyele said is aimed at promoting interest in cyber security and identify individuals and teams with recognition-worthy skills.

“Come and see budding and full-fledged Cyber security enthusiasts {n00bs and 3lit3s} race against time to solve challenges and capture flags in our Hackathon, with challenges including, but not limited to Network Security, Programming, Cryptography, Web Application Security, Reverse Engineering and Digital Forensics.

“It is a battle of wits, skills and humour, to see who would conquer. The winners go home with a cash prize of N200,000. Interested parcicipants are expected to visit http://ctf.naijaseccon.com/” Akinyele said.

It will be recalled Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cyber security solutions, in collaboration with INTERPOL, recently released research on cybercriminal activity in West Africa, showing that scams targeting individuals and businesses have grown exponentially since 2013.

West African cybercriminal activity is driven by two types of threat actors: Yahoo Boys and Next-Level Cybercriminals. Yahoo Boys, named for their reliance on Yahoo apps to communicate, became the primary type of cybercriminal in this region in the early 2000s.

They focus on less technically advanced schemes, including advanced-fee, stranded traveler and romance scams under the supervision of a ringleader. Next-Level Cybercriminals are able to execute more sophisticated attacks, such as Business Email Compromise (BEC) and tax scams. The more complex attacks take more time and investment, but the average BEC scam results in a payout of $140,000, making it worth the extra time and effort.

Raimund Genes, chief technology officer for Trend Micro had said of the report, that “Our ongoing collaboration with INTERPOL is aimed at mitigating the risks posed by cybercriminals around the world, with this research specifically focusing on cybercrime in West Africa.”