The AFRINIC-23 Meeting kicked off, as usual, with training sessions and workshops. Attendance so far has been huge, with around 200 people gathering to share technical knowledge and learn new skills. Enthusiasm around these training sessions and workshops has been superb. Since the meeting began on Saturday 28 November, AFRINIC has successfully concluded its Internet Number Resource Management (INRM) training,IPv6 Part 1 & 2, RPKI, and DNSSEC workshops. Other sessions included the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) track, which offered workshops on CSIRT Services and Tools Selection Procedure, the two-day Web Defacement Incident Handling workshop, and the CSIRT Incident Handling challenges, which ended Tuesday. These tracks, which discussed crucial cyber security issues, were equally well attended, with over 100 participants attending the CERT workshops over the last four days.

We catch up with some of the trainers and participants to find out what's been going on:

CERT Workshop

''I am very pleased to be able to participate in this training course for the second time,"  says Abdeldjalil Bachar Bong, from Tchad, who attended the CERT Workshop. "The first one was as an AFRINIC-21 fellow. The course was opportunity to learn more about the philosophy of the Computer Emergency Response Team's (CERT) operational framework and to understand the difference between CyberSecurity vs CyberCrime vs CyberSpace and CSIRT vs CIRT vs SERT. I also learned about the basic requirements for establishing a CSIRT. This workshop also allowed me to build relationships and a network with African CERTs in Pointe Noire. My hope is that, after this training, I will be able to start our TchadCERT project as quickly as possible to inform our local community about cybersecurity issues and to develop a safe Tchad Internet ecosystem. If we do not take this initiative ourselves now nobody will come and do it for us.''

AFRINIC Training Courses

''Over the past three days, we ran two training sessions  - the Internet Number Resource Manager (INRM) training and IPv6 training," AFRINIC Trainer Stephen Honlue tells us. "Around 50 participants attended the workshops from various countries. The workshops went really well and the participants showed a lot of interest. Our survey feedback backed this up, showing that the courses met expectations of participants (Pv6 training 97.5% and INRM 95.4%). We were happy to note that although most participants did not meet the prerequisites for our trainings, they were eager to learn and eventually were able to learn more than we expected. The class was very interactive and we were able to provide answers to the many questions from participants."

Web Defacement Handling Workshop

Koicchiro Sparky Komiyama and Hajime Komaba JPCERT (Japan) conducted hands-on training on website defacement incident handling. As website defacements are commonly seen in our region, the training focused on how Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) staff can efficiently analyse log files to identify the incidents. JPCERT has been providing technical hands-on courses to the AFRINIC community since 2009 through AfricaCERT. Sparky says he appreciates all the support provided by AFRINIC, as this is a crucial step for a secure, resilient cyber space in Africa and the rest of the world. 

Later in the Day, the AfGWG Meeting was held. Around 25 government officials from the African region gathered to discuss IPv6 deployment, AFRINIC's role in the IPv6 transition process, interconnecting Africa and other pertinent issues. AFRINIC CEO Alan Barrett opened the session, giving a brief introduction on the AfGWG Meeting and the agenda. 

On 2 December:

• His Excellency Mr Hellot Matson Mampouya, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications of the Republic of Congo, declares the AFRINIC-23 Meeting open during the Opening Ceremony

• First Plenary Day dedicated to policy discussions takes place at 11a:00 UTC (+1) - have your say on the policy proposals that will be discussed. Remember anyone can participate: you do not have to be an AFRINIC member and you do not need to be here in Pointe Noire to contribute. Find out how to participate remotely. 
  

• FIRE Africa Workshop - Day 2.

Click here to see the agenda.

The traditional AFRINIC-23 Newcomers session was also held on Tuesday morning and was attended by around 33 participants. AFRINIC staff explained the local, regional and global Internet ecosystem, and gave an overview on Internet number resources and how they are managed and distributed and how the Policy Development Process works. Staff also talked about Internet infrastructure, capacity building, and security among others to help newcomers understand what our meeting offers and achieves. You can go over the newcomers' session slides here. 

If you're still feeling a bit lost, or would like more details about AFRINIC, the AFRINIC Meetings or any of the topics mentioned above, please have a chat with our Newcomers' Team.