DEDAT HOST IT SECURITY HACKATHON

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The Department of Economic Development and Tourism hosted another successful hackathon at the Sol Plaatjie University, on 16-17 May 2017.

Geekculcha, Sol Plaatje University and DEDAT held 24 hour, IT Security Summit Hackathon. The event was held simultaneously to the IT Web Security Hack in Johannesburg. Student, local SMMEs, IT professionals from both the private and public sector attended and participated in the event (Hack - #SS17Hack). The Hackathon challenged innovators to build secure systems and innovative mechanisms for the security sector large bearing in mind the retail, public and financial sectors.

Mentors supervised over the groups and the generation of solutions for first leg of the Hack on 16 May 2017. The prizes were as follows, first prize received R5000, second prized won R2500 and third prize was awarded R1000.

Six groups participated and presented their ideas to the panel of judges on 17 May 2017, after which the winners were announced. Kimberley Natives were first to present followed by Big Data, Joxicraft, SixGig , Stephen and DAM. The panel of four judges critiqued the ideas and further encouraged the participants by acknowledging that their products presented had the potential to be commercialized. The teams were judged strictly on security amendment, innovation and complexity.

Third prize was awarded to Big Data, second place was taken by SixGig and the first prize was won by Joxicraft.

Departmental officials worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the event. The event was a success and engaged the youth and interrogated the cyber security sector, which is a growing concern to the public, private and retail sectors. Such innovative and critical thinking is essential to the progression of cybersecurity.