Week 1
| Date | 11/Mar | 12/Mar | 13/Mar | 14/Mar | 15/Mar |
| Day | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Time (SAST) | 14:30-16:45 | 15:45-16:45 | 17:00-18:00 | 14:30-15:30 | |
| Time (CET) | 13:30-15:45 | 14:45-15:45 | 16:00-17:00 | 13:30-14:30 | |
| Lecture 1 | SANCS24 Kick-Off Ceremony, including expert panel on ‘Growing Diversity in the Cyber Security Workforce’ with Maartje Peters, Kerissa Varma, Nanjira Sambuli, and Nompumelelo Khumalo. | Panel session: The state of cyber security in Southern Africa | Cyber Game Explanation | Accountability in cyber security | No lectures |
| Lecturer 1 | n/a | Jabu Mtsweni, Douglas Mapuranga, Simphiwe Hector Mayisela (moderated by Noelle Cowling) | Michel Rademaker (The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies) | Frits Bussemaker (I4ADA) | |
| Time (SAST) | 17:00-18:00 | 17:00-18:00 | |||
| Time (CET) | 16:00-17:00 | 16:00-17:00 | |||
| Lecture 2 | No Lecture 2 | Attribution in Cyber Space | No lectures | Cyber mercenaries | No lectures |
| Lecturer 2 | Charlotte Lindsey (Cyber Peace Institute) | Pablo Rice (Paris Peace Forum) |
Week 2
| Date | 18/Mar | 19/Mar | 20/Mar | 21/Mar | 22/Mar |
| Day | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Time (SAST) | 14:30-15:30 | 14:30-15:30 | |||
| Time (CET) | 13:30-14:30 | 13:30-14:30 | |||
| Lecture 1 | Cybersecurity of Operational Technology (OT) | Digital Transformation – Cloud platforms and the associated cybersecurity risks | No lectures | No lectures (national holiday) | No lectures |
| Lecturer 1 | Johan de Wit (Siemens) | Unathi Mothiba (Liquid C2) | |||
| Time (SAST) | 15:45-16:45 | 15:45-16:45 | |||
| Time (CET) | 14:45-15:45 | 14:45-15:45 | |||
| Lecture 2 | The Post-Quantum Cryptography migration handbook | Cyber Risk Management | No lectures | No lectures (national holiday) | No lectures |
| Lecturer 2 | Thomas Attema (TNO) | Elmarie Biermann (Cyber Security Institute) |
Please note: there is an extra lecture on Monday 18-03: from 17:00-18:00 SAST (16:00-17:00 CET), David Moepeng, a leading Cyberpsychologist, will provide a lecture on Cybersecurity Awareness.
Week 3
| Date | 25/Mar | 26/Mar | 27/Mar | 28/Mar | 29/Mar |
| Day | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Time (SAST) | 15:45 – 16:45 | 15:45 – 16:45 | 14:30 – 15:30 | ||
| Time (CET) | 14:45 – 15:45 | 14:45 – 15:45 | 13:30 – 14:30 | ||
| Lecture 1 | Information manipulation and subversion of democracy | Incident Response | No lectures | Defending against future cyber threats | Easter break |
| Lecturer 1 | Arthur Laudrain (The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies) | Samantha Rule (Ninety One) | Tima Soni (UNICC) | ||
| Time (SAST) | 17:00-18:00 | 17:00-18:00 | 15:45 – 16:45 | ||
| Time (CET) | 16:00-17:00 | 16:00-17:00 | 14:45 – 15:45 | ||
| Lecture 2 | Careers and specialisation pathways in cyber security | Artificial Intelligence | No lectures | Psychology of Ransomware | Easter break |
| Lecturer 2 | Dumisani Gumbi (ISACA) | Bruce Watson (CAIR) | Godert Jan van Manen (Northwave Cyber Security) |
Week 4
| Date | 01/Apr | 02/Apr | 03/Apr | 04/Apr | 05/Apr |
| Day | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Time (SAST/CEST) | 13:30-14:30 | 16:00-17:00 | |||
| Lecture 1 | Easter break | Internet of Things (IoT) Security | No lectures | EU regulation | Working on challenges |
| Lecturer 1 | Brett van Niekerk (Durban University of Technology) | Louk Faesen (European Parliament) | |||
| Time (SAST/CEST) | 14:45-15:45 | 17:15-18:15 | |||
| Lecture 2 | Easter break | The Mitre Attack Framework & IOT/IIOT | No lectures | Understanding and mitigating your Attack Surface (Red Teaming/Blue Teaming/VAPTs) | Working on challenges |
| Lecturer 2 | Justin Westcott (Datagr8) | Shahrain Coovadia & Cobus Mentz |
Please note: There is an additional lecture on Tuesday April 2, from 16:00-17:00, provided by Michel Rademaker (The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies) who will host a session showing the Cyber Game Results + an Introduction of the SANCS24 Challenges.
Week 5
| Date | 08/April – 12/April |
| Day | Monday – Friday |
| Time (SAST/CEST) | n/a |
| Event | Working on challenges |
Week 6
| Date | 15/Apr – 17/Apr | 18/Apr |
| Day | Monday – Wednesday | Thursay |
| Time (SAST/CEST) | n/a | 13:30-15:45 |
| Event | Working on challenges | SANCS24 Closing Ceremony |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When will the SANCS take place?
A: The SANCS is scheduled between the 11th of March and the 18th of April. The lecture series will commence on the 12th of March and continue on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday for the subsequent two weeks. The final lecture is set for the 4th of April. Following this, a two-week challenge period will unfold, where students will collaborate in groups to accomplish targeted tasks. The outcomes of the National Cyber Resilience Game and these challenges will be unveiled during the closing week of SANCS, culminating in the closing ceremony on the 18th of April.
Q: How much time should I allocate for SANCS coursework and assignments?
A: Participants in SANCS are expected to engage on a part-time basis to ensure their academic commitments aren’t compromised. Generally, attendees will need to dedicate around 20 hours to lectures and 10 hours to assignments spread across four weeks.
Q: When will the final program details be disclosed?
A: The complete program details will be made available in due course, encompassing course specifics and instructors. Assignment details will be released midway through the courses, coinciding with the participant selection process from the student pool.
Q: I lack a background in Cybersecurity. Can I still apply for SANCS?
A: Absolutely! The lectures in SANCS are thoughtfully curated to cater to both newcomers to the field and those aiming to build upon existing knowledge.
Q: I don’t meet all the criteria. Can I still apply for SANCS?
A: Yes, motivation and your current Cybersecurity knowledge are taken into account. While priority is given to eligible and highly motivated applicants, partial fulfillment of criteria doesn’t preclude your application.
Q: Is there a participation fee?
A: There is no participation fee due to the generous contributions of our sponsors and partner organizations
Q: How will courses be conducted?
A: This year’s courses will be conducted online. Participants need a digital device (desktop, laptop, or smartphone) with sufficient bandwidth to attend livestreamed lectures via Microsoft Teams.
Q: Will I earn credits?
A: Discussions are ongoing with various colleges about introducing a credit system for SANCS. Additional information will be posted on the official SANCS website. Participants will receive an official certificate upon SANCS23 completion, besides potential credits.
Successfully finishing the online courses warrants a Certification of Attendance at the program’s end.
Q: What type of Certificate will I receive?
A: SANCS furnishes two types of certification. Upon attending the initial lectures, participants earn a Certificate of Attendance. Completion of the Challenges, constituting the second phase, results in a Certification of Participation.
Q: What are the Certificate requirements?
A: Students attending at least 75% of the SANCS lectures obtain an official Certificate of Attendance. Successfully concluding challenges grants participants a Certificate of Participation.
