Rwandan youth have emerged victorious in the inaugural national Cyberlympics, a competition that is designed to encourage and elevate cybersecurity skills amongst the youth, at the same time boosting the country’s efforts in growing its status as an emerging technology hub.

Cyberlympics Rwanda is an online cyber-security and cyber-defence competition, which took place on the margins of the ongoing Africa Cyber Defence Forum (ACDF).

The competition pits teams from Rwanda in 24-hour intense hands-on real-life based scenarios and hands-on virtual labs that cover a series of challenges, including offensive cyber warfare, digital forensics, and cyber defence, among others.

Three teams emerged as winners in the competition’s first edition, with cyber leaders from across Africa present at the awarding ceremony, to encourage and support all of the youth participants to be the next generation of Africa’s cyber defenders.

“These young people are our first line of defence,” said Gilbert Nyandeje, Founder and chief executive of the Africa Cyber Defense Forum.

Nyandeje pointed out that Africa’s emerging talent plays a critical role in safeguarding the digital landscape.

He also stressed the “urgent need” to ensure that individuals’ information remains secure and their privacy protected in an era increasingly fraught with cyber threats.

Cybersecurity topics that the students were challenged to tackle during the Cyberlympics included system exploitation, malware analysis, reverse engineering, cryptography, and programming.

“I would encourage you to use this Cyberlympics competition to not only improve your technical skills but also your ability to work as a team and problem solve,” Minister of Innovation and ICT, Paula Ingabire, told participating teams, including Rwanda Coding Academy and University of Rwanda students.

The competition drew widespread praise from industry experts, who maintained that the potential showcased should be utilised in curbing the frequency and complexity of escalating cyberattacks in Africa and beyond.

“To build a strong cybersecurity ecosystem, we need to go beyond just security or crime prevention. It’s about creating a continuous flow of young talent into the system and using our resources wisely to pull everything together for long-term resilience,” said Adv. Jacqueline Fick, chief executive, VizStrat Solutions, South Africa.

Rwanda is hosting the fifth edition of the Africa Cyber Defense Forum (ACDF), under the theme: Enhancing Cyber Resilience: Safeguarding Africa’s Digital Infrastructure.”

According to organisers, it has drawn over 400 cyber experts from 50 countries across the globe to discuss strengthening cooperation for continental cyber resilience.

The discussions also come at a time when Rwanda, like it is around the globe, observes October as the cybersecurity awareness month.

October is dedicated to raising awareness amongst the public and private sectors about best practices that defend against cyber threats.