Rwanda needs more highly trained cybersecurity professionals as artificial intelligence creates new tools that can be used both to attack digital systems and defend them, experts said at a technology conference in Kigali.
The warning came as the ISACA Rwanda Chapter Annual Conference opened Oct. 5, bringing together professionals in cybersecurity, IT audit, risk management and data protection. The two-day conference was held at Kigali Marriott Hotel under the theme “Driving Digital Trust in an AI-Powered Ecosystem: Converging FinTech, Cyber Resilience & Data Privacy.”
Pascaline Umuhire, deputy head of ISACA Rwanda Chapter, said Rwanda still has relatively few professionals with advanced qualifications in cybersecurity and related fields.
ISACA provides training and professional certifications in technology, audit and information security. Umuhire said establishing a Rwanda chapter will make it easier for local professionals to access training and certification programmes.
“ISACA usually provides training in technology and offers different certifications to people working in technology and information security. In Rwanda, those who hold them are still very few,” she said.
Umuhire said AI-powered cyberattacks would be among the issues the chapter addresses through training and discussions for its members.
Rukundo Maharaliel, an ISACA member with an advanced information systems auditing qualification, said the rise of AI was changing the nature of cyber threats.
“There are AI tools designed to steal people’s digital information. But there are also AI tools that people use to prevent attacks carried out by other AI systems,” he said.
He said cybersecurity professionals therefore need to understand how the technology can be used both offensively and defensively.
The government is also seeking to expand the pool of specialists. MINICT Permanent Secretary Eraste Rurangwa said the Rwanda Institute of Computing will strengthen training in cybersecurity and AI and provide university-level qualifications. The ministry lists Rurangwa as permanent secretary, a position he has held since September 2025.
He said the institute is expected to begin admitting students in the next academic year, including graduates of Rwanda Coding Academy who meet the requirements. Rwanda also has a Cyber Hub at the University of Rwanda that provides short-term training to technology and cybersecurity professionals.
The ISACA conference is intended to strengthen professional skills and confidence in how organisations protect sensitive customer information.
