Highlights: AIS'16 Training Sessions 

The AIS'16 sessions were held from 29 May - 6 June and offered a wealth of training courses, workshops, tutorials and panel discussions on topics including Cybersecurity, IPv6, RPKI, DNSSEC, infrastructure, monitoring, routing, CSIRT, App Development, Internet number resource management and more. Over 230 people took advantage of these sessions. Sessions included:

• The AfNOG Bootcamp
• AfNOG Workshop on Scalable Infrastructure
• AfNOG Workshop Network Monitoring & Management
• AfNOG Workshop on Advanced Routing
• CSIRT Fundamentals, Starting a CSIRTl, Operating a CSIRT, Policy Writing for CSIRTs and more
• TERENA Transit II (Forensics) and Netflow and Communications
• AfTLD's Advance Registry Operators Course
• JPCERT Training Sessions
• AFRINIC's IPv6 Training for Engineers
•  AFRINIC's Internet Number Resource Management
• RPKI Tutorial
• AfNOG tutorial: Smart Phone App Development - iphone
• DNSSEC Tutorial
• Bitcoin Forum

AfricaCERT Cyber Security Day

The CyberSecurity Day took place on 4 June. Over 60 people attended and discussions focused for the first part on the importance of coorperation among CERTs in the African region.

The final day of cybersecurity workshops concluded with individual presentations from Serge Valery Zongo (ITU), Oliver Caleff (CERT-FR), Wassel Goushe (Carnegie Mellon University), and Marcus Adomey (AfricaCERT). All four speakers talked about awareness activities their organisations where involved with, as well as practical tools and strategies that  Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) can implement.

The four presenters returned after the break for a panel discussion on the opportunities and challenges that African CSIRTs face with all four presenters pointing to the need for cybersecurity communities to build stronger relationships and trust in one another to assist with sharing information. 

“We are in a society where trust is fundamental for information sharing,” said Marcus Adomey who invited attendees to take the first step by joining and contributing to AfricaCERT’s mailing list.

ICANN Day

ICANN representatives, regulators, tld operators and governments also gathered on 4 June.

In his opening remarks, Jeff Ramsay, government spokesperson from the Office of the President, welcomed attendees to Botswana, a country which like other African countries he said where the Internet is making a “profound difference” in society and, as such, requires policy makers and governments to become more engaged in developing appropriate and inclusive policy.

“When you look at participation rates in Africa and Botswana, you can see people are already using the technology… we, the policy makers, are the ones who have to catch up,” said Jeff.

Following Jeff, attendees heard from a collection of Internet dignitaries including ICANN board members George Sadowsky and Mike Silber, ALAC chair Alan Greenberg, and Tanzania’s Network Information Centre manager Abibu Ntahigiye who provided an overview of ICANN’s multi-stakeholder, bottom-up, inclusive policy development process.

After the coffee break, the ICANN representatives presented on several ICANN programs and activities: updates on the IANA Stewardship Transition, NextGen and Fellowship Programs and ICANN IDN programs amongst others.