ISLAMABAD: The Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecom, Dr. Umar Saif, stressed the critical need to fortify Pakistan’s cyber boundaries during the inaugural event of the third edition of the Digital Pakistan Cybersecurity Hackathon 2023.
Organized by Ignite in Karachi, the event saw the participation of cybersecurity professionals, industry experts, and academia.
Dr. Umar Saif highlighted ongoing initiatives within the Ministry to identify and nurture cybersecurity talent capable of countering malicious cyber threats. He specifically mentioned the progress in establishing the operational readiness of Pakistan’s National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the imminent institutionalization of a Cyber Security Authority.
Asim Shahryar Husain, CEO Ignite, shared insights into the significant strides taken to build cybersecurity capabilities in the country. Ignite organized a series of five-day hands-on training workshops in ten cities across Pakistan, surpassing the initial target by accommodating an impressive 1576 trainees, a 57 percent increase from the planned participants.
The comprehensive training covered various cybersecurity topics, including security fundamentals, penetration testing methodologies, web application security, network security, social engineering, wireless network security, cloud security, mobile device security, and incident response.
Global Competitiveness of Pakistani Cybersecurity Talent
Highlighting the global competitiveness of Pakistani cybersecurity talent, Husain mentioned that three teams sponsored by Ignite—Griffyns, Sudoers, and Airoverflow—participated in “Black Hat MEA” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. These teams secured rankings in the top 35 out of 250 global teams, with Airoverflow achieving a notable feat by cracking a Linux Docker in just 4 minutes and 50 seconds during a challenge.
The hackathon, a platform to identify and address security vulnerabilities, promote secure coding practices, and generate innovative solutions, involved a quiz competition with teams from ten universities. The top three teams, hailing from FAST and NUST universities, were recognized.
Regional rounds of the hackathon will be conducted in Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, and Islamabad, culminating in a final competition in Islamabad by the end of December. Cash awards totaling Rs. 3 million will be presented to the top three teams after the final competition.
