The 403|F0RB!DD3N team, winner of the 2020 edition of HackerLab and of the cybersecurity competition at DEV Champions in Ouagadougou.
Benin's standing in cybersecurity: 403|F0RB!DD3N received at the office of Minister Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU
On Tuesday 9 February 2021, the Minister of Digital Affairs and Digitalisation, Ms Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU, received the members of the 403|F0RB!DD3N team, winner of the 2020 edition of HackerLab, a competition that aims to identify and train Beninese cybersecurity talent. The team, made up of Junias BONOU, Bernadin TONOUDJI, Hospice MICHOAGAN and Aristide SOSSOU, also distinguished itself at continental level by winning first prize in the cybersecurity competition at DEV Champions in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Proud of these achievements, which put Benin on the map of Africa in cybersecurity, the Minister Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU wished to meet them to congratulate them and discuss their prospects. She first expressed her satisfaction that almost all the team members come from the Institute of Training and Research in Computer Science of the University of Abomey-Calavi. She then stressed the need to sustain these achievements by reaching out to the next cohorts. Finally, the Minister Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU urged them to give priority to practical know-how and to continue their efforts so that Benin's name is no longer associated with cybercrime.
Through its spokesperson, Mr Junias BONOU, the 403|F0RB!DD3N team expressed the need for support from the digital sector in the form of training and certification opportunities in order to become more competitive. This meeting took place as part of the celebration of Safer Internet Day.