Abuja: The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), in collaboration with the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), has rewarded winners of the Code4Africa Privacy Hackathon. They also called for development in data privacy solutions to enhance data protection in the digital ecosystem.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the hackathon, which took place during the 17th annual ISACA conference in Abuja on Thursday, gathered students who proposed innovative solutions for data privacy and protection. This second edition of the competition was also hosted in partnership with Scratch and Script Ltd, an IT and data privacy company.
Mr Daniel Segun emerged as the overall winner with his Data Guardian application and received a cash prize of N750,000. Segun expressed his satisfaction with the recognition, stating that he was fulfilled to contribute value and pleased that such value was being acknowledged and rewarded.
Other winners included Mr David Adegunse, who developed a Digital Privacy Legacy Manager to assist in tracking handsets before power on the device goes out, and Mr Ogenyi Adams, who created an AI Summariser. Both received a cash prize of N250,000 each.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner of NDPC, stated that the hackathon aimed to build the capacity of youths in developing Artificial Intelligence-driven solutions for data privacy and protection. He highlighted that the innovations showcased how emerging technologies were influencing data privacy. Olatunji praised ISACA for its support and pledged that NDPC would continue the collaboration for its socio-economic impact on the country.
Mrs Chidera Ike-Okonkwo, Project Coordinator of the Code4Africa Hackathon, mentioned that the competition received over 250 entries, including 10 virtual teams from Kenya, with one of the winning solutions coming from a Kenyan university. Ike-Okonkwo emphasized their commitment to creating more awareness about the innovations to attract support for incubation, internships, and opportunities to scale up the solutions. She noted the intention to expand future editions of the hackathon to include more African countries.
The event also featured other award categories, including humanitarian awards, volunteers awards, and recognition for top scorers in the Certified Information Systems Auditor examination. The conference’s theme was ‘AI and Digital Trust: A Global Perspective on Opportunities, Threats and Future Strategies.’