Amazon senior security engineer, offensive security expert, and mentor to Africa’s next generation of cyber professionals joins the Dratech 2024 judging panel.
The Dratech Hackathon 2024 is setting up to be more than a competition. It is a test of ideas that can shape how Africa secures its digital future, protects its infrastructure, and builds the next wave of cybersecurity talent. In that context, who sits on the judging panel is not a formality. It is a signal of the standard expected from every team that submits a solution.
This year, Dratech International is pleased to announce Mr. Chinedu Lawrence Onwukike as one of the judges for the Dratech Hackathon 2024. A seasoned cybersecurity and offensive security leader whose work spans financial services, healthcare, cloud platforms, and critical infrastructure, Chinedu brings a rare combination of deep technical skill, strategic thinking, and a clear commitment to education and capacity building across Africa.
His appointment is not only a recognition of his global impact. It is a deliberate choice to place someone on the panel who understands how attackers think, how large organizations respond, and how emerging talent can be guided to build solutions that truly stand up to real world threats.
Who Chinedu Onwukike Is
Chinedu is a Senior Security Engineer at Amazon, specializing in offensive security and penetration testing across complex environments that process sensitive data for millions of users. His work covers healthcare systems, e-commerce services, payment platforms, and cloud infrastructure, where he leads red team style engagements to uncover vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.
He brings over thirteen years of experience across offensive and defensive security, threat intelligence, governance, and incident response, built through roles at Amazon, IBM Canada, Canada Life, First Bank of Nigeria, Deloitte, and GTBank. Along the way, he has helped design threat intelligence programs, respond to high stakes incidents, and mature security operations in institutions that sit at the center of national and global economies.
Academically, Chinedu holds a Master of Science in Advanced Computing: Internet Technologies with Security from the University of Bristol, where he studied with support from the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF). He complements this foundation with advanced certifications such as Certified Red Team Professional (CRTP), Certified Red Team Expert (CRTE), PentesterAcademy Certified Enterprise Security Specialist (PACES), and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH).
Yet what really distinguishes him, and what makes his presence on the Dratech panel so significant, is how he has moved from only finding vulnerabilities to shaping methodologies, frameworks, and talent pipelines that push the field forward.
The Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking Innovation Award at the Dratech Hackathon recognizes individuals and teams developing tools, frameworks, or algorithms that strengthen digital security, penetration testing, and real time threat detection. It is a category that sits at the heart of Chinedu’s core expertise.
At Amazon, he leads offensive security engagements that cover more than 200 services, from applications that handle personal health information to systems that drive online transactions. His work has exposed issues that could affect tens of millions of users if left unchecked. He does not approach penetration testing as a one off exercise. Instead, he looks at how systems interact, how attack paths connect, and how organizations can detect and respond with speed.
One of his most notable contributions is the development of Holistic Testing, codenamed “Arvensis.” This methodology groups applications that share similar attack surfaces so that tests mirror how an actual attacker would move across systems, not just how they are arranged on a project plan. By thinking in terms of ecosystems rather than single applications, Arvensis has increased detection of complex vulnerability chains and reduced duplicated effort in scoping, testing, and reporting.
For teams competing in the Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking Innovation Award, this matters. A judge who has created and proven a methodology like Arvensis knows the difference between a tool that only looks clever on paper and a solution that can realistically change how organizations test, detect, and respond. Chinedu will be lookingfor ideas that understand attacker behavior, scale across multiple systems, and help defenders see their environment in a more integrated way.
The AI and Automation in Cyber Defense Award celebrates innovations that use artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automation to identify, mitigate, or predict cyber threats. Many teams will come with promises of “smart” detection and “intelligent” response. The real question is whether those solutions can handle noisy environments, adapt to evolving threats, and integrate with modern offensive testing approaches.
Chinedu’s career vision directly addresses this space. He is focused on integrating AI and automation into penetration testing and threat detection so that defenses become faster, more adaptive, and more scalable. His goal is not only to build stronger tools, but to design methods that reflect real attacker behavior while reducing the manual overhead that often slows security teams down.
As someone who has overseen dozens of engagements across hybrid and cloud environments, he understands where AI can make a genuine difference and where it is just marketing. He has worked with in-house tools such as NightWolf, used to detect cloud misconfigurations at scale, and has conducted research on issues like misconfigured identity services that led to tangible improvements in how large organizations secure their environments.
When he evaluates projects in the AI and Automation in Cyber Defense category, Chinedu will pay attention to more than technical buzzwords. He will look at how models are trained, how false positives are handled, how automation reduces time to respond, and how solutions can be safely integrated into complex infrastructure without creating new attack surfaces. For teams working at this intersection, his feedback will be both demanding and practical.
Technical innovation is only one side of cybersecurity. The other side is people: the professionals who investigate threats, manage incidents, design architectures, and educate users. The Cybersecurity Education and Capacity Building Award recognizes initiatives that grow this human layer through awareness, mentorship, and training programs across Africa.
Here, Chinedu’s track record is just as strong as his technical achievements. He serves as a mentor at SecuredStart Academy, a program designed to move learners from interest in cybersecurity to job ready skills within a few months. SecuredStart combines fundamentals with modern topics such as AI in cybersecurity and no code security tools, and it emphasizes hands-on labs over theory alone. Chinedu plays a direct role in guiding cohorts, reviewing their work, and preparing them for real roles in the industry.
He has also contributed as a facilitator at BlackTech Academy, where he supports learners from underrepresented communities in gaining access to cybersecurity careers. His involvement has included explaining complex concepts in accessible language, designing practical labs, and mentoring students on how to navigate hiring processes and build confidence in high stakes interviews.
Beyond structured programs, he writes and speaks regularly on security topics. His blog, Talk Security, documents advanced penetration testing case studies, while his talks at events such as NaijaSecCon and ISACA Lagos translate complex topics like malware analysis and crypto mining threats into practical lessons for defenders.
For projects in the Cybersecurity Education and Capacity Building Award, Chinedu will be looking for more than inspirational language. He understands the gaps between training and job readiness, especially in African markets, and he will value programs that provide clear pathways into real work, inclusive access for diverse learners, and measurable outcomes rather than vague promises.
Broader Impact and Alignment with Dratech’s Vision
Dratech International was founded to spotlight African talent, celebrate innovation, and tell the stories of people who are quietly shaping the future of technology on the continent. Chinedu’s journey fits that mission perfectly.
From early roles in Nigerian banks and consulting firms, where he helped protect financial systems, to leading offensive security at Amazon and contributing to research used by defenders around the world, he has carried African expertise into global arenas without losing sight of where he started. His participation in the Global CyberLympics finals, his victory at the CYSEC ethical hacking challenge, and his ongoing visibility in media and conference platforms all point to a professional who represents Africa with both competence and humility.
By bringing Chinedu onto the Dratech Hackathon 2024 judging panel, Dratech is raising the bar for what qualifies as “innovative.” His presence sends a clear message to participants: this is a competition that respects serious technical work, values impact over hype, and expects teams to think about long term resilience as much as immediate functionality.
The stage is set. With judges like Chinedu Onwukike on the panel, the Dratech Hackathon 2024 is not simply seeking projects that look impressive in a demo. It is looking for tools, frameworks, platforms, and training programs that can stand up to the realities of modern cyber threats and scale across Africa’s rapidly growing digital economy.
If you are building a new approach to penetration testing or ethical hacking, designing AI powered defenses that make security teams faster and smarter, protecting industrial systems that power cities and industries, or creating programs that train and mentor the next generation of cybersecurity professionals, this is your moment.
Dratech invites startups, research groups, students, professionals, and community teams to submit their projects for the 2024 Hackathon. Bring your best work. Show how your ideas can secure data, infrastructure, and communities. Judges like Chinedu will be ready to challenge your assumptions, recognize your depth, and support solutions that can change how Africa and the world think about cybersecurity and digital resilience.
