ITWeb Security Summit Hackathon – #SS23Hack

#SS23Hack officially starts on 13 May 2023 with the Ideathon – for training, idea generation and preselection for the main event in June.

Now in its seventh year, the ITWeb Security Summit Hackathon aims to sharpen the skills, tools and capabilities of ICT students, technopreneurs and young information security professionals.

The inaugural hackathon took place in 2017, in partnership with Geekulcha, on the sidelines of ITWeb’s Security Summit, to address the cyber security skills gap and foster development of innovative security solutions.

Geekulcha's COO, Tiyani Nghonyama, says: "The ITWeb Security Summit Hackathon was set out as a response to industry needs in young information security professionals and thus it is thrilling that the hackathon has indeed prepared and provided such skills to the industry."

The main event, the 2023 Geekulcha/ITWeb Security Summit Hackathon – #SS23Hack – is made possible thanks to sponsors Snode and the Startup Business Campus, and will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre on 6 and 7 June.

Themed "Trust No Bot", the hackathon will challenge participants to create secure and scenario-based solutions that provide protection to users against known or emerging threats. Participants will work in teams to create solutions with guidance from a set of industry mentors, use best practices, methodologies and possibly create new algorithms to minimise risk in different scenarios of security needs. For a third year, the ITWeb Security Summit Hackathon will also feature a Capture The Flag (CTF) challenge in a controlled lab.

Prizes include cash and internship or work opportunities for the winning teams in the innovation development and/or CTF challenge.

Over the years, the ITWeb Security Summit Hackathon has grown into a platform for skills development, providing opportunities for internships as well as full employment at partner organisations such as Snode and Telspace Systems. Through partnerships with the likes of PwC, participants participated in vacation work programmes to gain further experience in the industry.

Nghonyama says the ITWeb Security Summit Hackathon has been a source of bright South African cyber security talent for the industry. “This year, the hackathon aims to take things up a notch by developing the solutions with the potential of addressing rising demands within the threat landscape.”

On 13 May, ITWeb and partners will host the Ideathon, where teams will be given time to write and submit their ideas for the chance to be selected to participate at the hackathon.

All interested participants are encouraged to register here.