2021First Edition
Testing the Waters
The first AfricaCERT Cyber Drill was held online from 30 June to 1 July 2021. It established an annual platform for testing how African CSIRTs communicate, coordinate and respond under realistic pressure. Scenarios covered phishing, website defacement, malware analysis and ransomware investigation.
The inaugural edition brought together 32 incident-response teams from 25 countries, including participants from Africa, OIC-CERT and APCERT communities.
Read the 2021 Press Release (PDF)
2022Second Edition
Stay on Alert
The second edition took place from 8 to 9 September 2022 and expanded both participation and scenario complexity. CERT-MU chaired the exercise, with scenarios on Business Email Compromise, SQL injection and supply-chain vulnerabilities.
Fifty CSIRT teams from 39 countries participated, joined by partners from OIC-CERT, APCERT and Latin America.
Read the 2022 Press Release (PDF)
2023Third Edition
Fill the Gaps
The third edition was held in Maputo, Mozambique, from 7 to 10 November 2023. It was the first joint AfricaCERT–SADC event and combined onsite training with hybrid exercise delivery.
Training covered digital forensics, CSIRT creation and management, and cyber risk and resiliency. Teams from 35 countries, including 29 African countries, participated.
Read the 2023 Press Release (PDF)
2024Fourth Edition
Level Up Your Readiness
The fourth edition took place in Livingstone, Zambia, on 29 and 30 November 2024 during the Africa Regional Cybersecurity Symposium. It highlighted collaboration among AfricaCERT, SADC, ZICTA, FIRST, CERT-MU, bjCSIRT and partners.
The exercise focused on ransomware, malware reverse engineering and financial-fraud scenarios, with participation from representatives of 45 African countries.
Read the 2024 Press Release (PDF)
2025Fifth Edition
Continental Cyber Drill in Maseru
The fifth edition was delivered in Maseru, Lesotho, from 4 to 7 November 2025 in collaboration with the SADC Cyber Drill. The four-day programme drew 310 delegates and combined AfricaCERT capacity building, regional exercises and the Handshake Meeting.
Operational technology became a central focus through hands-on ICT/OT cybersecurity training. The programme also featured ransomware, financial-transfer and AI-security scenarios, and hosted the second continental youth hackathon.
Read the 2025 Press Release (PDF)
