ATI NetSec Forum
Building Africa’s Research & Education Cybersecurity Community through technical exchange, operational training, and trusted collaboration.
Why the NetSec Forum
As research and education networks across Africa expand, they are increasingly supporting critical digital infrastructure for universities, research institutions, and scientific collaboration. This growth brings significant opportunities but also exposes networks to an evolving cybersecurity threat landscape.
Addressing these challenges requires more than isolated technical teams. It requires a trusted, collaborative cybersecurity community that connects network operators, security practitioners, researchers, students and institutions across the continent.
This is where the ATI NetSec Forum comes in. The NetSec Forum serves as a community platform connecting cybersecurity practitioners and researchers working to secure Africa’s research and education infrastructure.
Community Scope
NREN Academy
Network engineers and security specialists operating national research and education networks.
Universities
Campus network operators and institutional security teams protecting academic digital infrastructure.
CSIRTs
Collaboration with national teams to strengthen coordination between academic and national cyber defence.
Researchers
Experts contributing applied research on threat detection, network measurement, and infrastructure resilience.
Students
Early-career professionals engaging with practitioners to develop practical cybersecurity skills.
Private Sector
Cybersecurity companies and threat intelligence organizations contributing technical expertise.
Core Activities
Training and Capacity Building
Participants develop practical skills in network security monitoring, intrusion detection, incident response workflows, and threat intelligence fundamentals.
Technical Exchange
A platform for technical presentations, operational case studies, and practitioner-led knowledge exchange to solve regional security challenges.
Cybersecurity Exercises
Engage in cyber defence exercises such as the CyberBastion Africa League, practising responses to realistic incidents affecting R&E infrastructure.
Research Collaboration
Advancing applied cybersecurity research relevant to African networks through collaboration between researchers and operational teams.
ATI in the WACREN Cybersecurity Programme
The ATI NetSec Forum complements other initiatives within the WACREN Cybersecurity & Trust Programme. While TrustBroker Africa provides a trusted collaboration environment for incident response teams and security organisations, the NetSec Forum expands the ecosystem by bringing together a broader community of practitioners, researchers, and organisations interested in network security for research and education infrastructure.
Launch Activities & Milestones
The ATI NetSec Forum will be launched alongside the CyberBastion Africa League in 2026.
CyberBastion Information Session
Official launch of the NetSec community initiative alongside the Africa League.
CyberBastion Competition
Online competition phase involving teams from research and education networks across Africa.
TrustBroker Africa VI
Community collaboration, ATI NetSec workshops, and CyberBastion Africa League finals.