The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has invited Nigeria to participate in promoting the Blockchain Secure Authentication (BSA), a challenge that seeks to further secure digital financial services.
Organised by ITU as part of the DFS security lab activities, (DFS Lab is a research-driven venture capital firm for Africa) and with support of FNSV Korea, the BSA application challenge is aimed at innovators and developers seeking to revolutionise user authentication in digital financial services (DFS).
ITU said that the BSA challenge seeks to overcome the vulnerabilities of traditional “shared secrets” like passwords and one-time passwords that are susceptible to phishing and theft.
Winners of the challenge stand to win prizes, with the first winner rewarded WITH $5,000; the second, $3,000 and the third, $2,000.
Participants are expected to develop and implement cutting-edge BSA solutions to improve user privacy and security, eliminating the need to remember and input passwords at each login, thus raising authentication standards in DFS and acquiring practical skills in deploying BSA technologies.
Open to individuals from ITU Member States, Sector Members, Associates, Academic Institutions, innovators and developers, interested participants can register for the challenge by reading the BSA application challenge participation guidelines carefully and enrolling in the competition through the Zindi platform (ITUs partners). After registration is completed, participants should receive a confirmation email and to create or join a team to start participating in the competition, ITU said. However, the team size varies from 1-5 participants.
What is BSA?
Blockchain Secure Authentication is a process in the blockchain network that improves transaction security and transparency, by using cryptographic keys and digital signatures to verify users, devices, or systems, preventing identity theft and fraud.
The challenge timeline spans from May 13 to August 1, 2024, with evaluation taking place from August 25 to September 30, 2024 and awards scheduled for October 14, 2024. There would also be a showcase from October 14 to October 24, 2024.
To access the problem statements, participants will be expected to implement the following: Passwordless Application Login Authentication; Passwordless Transactions confirmation; Passwordless Access Control Authentication, after which a detailed description of the problem statements will be found.
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