Cairo, September 2025 – MCS, the Middle East’s leading value-added distributor and regional advisory partner for IT and cybersecurity solutions in Egypt and Africa, in collaboration with 30N Group, a pioneer in media consultancy and services in Egypt and the Middle East, the Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) of the Egyptian Cabinet, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Egypt, announced the winners of the final competition of their joint specialized training programme on media coverage of cybersecurity issues.

Al-Watan newspaper won first place for its feature “Victims of the Digital Age- Trapped by Cybercrime” which also launched Al-Watan’s “Your Data is Not a Game” Campaign by journalists Mohamed Said Al-Shamma and Menna El-Ashmawy. Egypt Telegraph secured second place for its story “Innocent Entertainment at Risk: Demons Haunting Children in Cyberspace” by journalist Hassan Rashid, while Al-Bawaba News came in third with the piece “Cyber Extortion: Digital Bombs Threatening Individuals and Institutions… Egypt Wages a Silent War to Safeguard its Digital Infrastructure” by journalist Hayam Abdel Hafiz.

Dr. Osama El-Gohary, Assistant to the Prime Minister and Chairman of the IDSC, congratulated the winners, highlighting the competition as an important step in advancing awareness on cybersecurity—an area that the Egyptian government prioritizes as part of its digital transformation strategy. He emphasized that professional media coverage of cybersecurity issues helps mitigate risks while ensuring optimal use of modern digital tools to advance development goals.

CEO of MCS Eng. Tarek Shabaka, expressed deep appreciation for the journalists’ contributions, noting that the submissions reflected the significant impact of the training programme. He affirmed that Egyptian media has demonstrated remarkable ability to cover cybersecurity with depth and strategic perspective. He added that the programme, developed in partnership with key stakeholders, has built the capacity of participating journalists to highlight strategic cybersecurity issues tailored to the Egyptian context—underscoring the success of this initiative as part of MCS’s corporate social responsibility to raise public awareness of cybersecurity as a vital pillar of Egypt’s national security.

From her side, UNDP Egypt Resident Representative Chitose Noguchi said, “I am delighted to acknowledge the achievements of Egyptian media in raising awareness on cybersecurity. At a time when cyber threats are becoming more complex — and more dangerous — their role is more vital than ever. By recognizing their outstanding reporting, we are highlighting the value of responsible journalism in empowering citizens and supporting national efforts to build a secure and resilient digital society. UNDP is proud to partner with MCS and 30N, under the auspices of the IDSC, demonstrating the power of collaboration in advancing Egypt’s digital transformation journey.”

Noha El-Nahhas, CEO of 30N Group, stressed that such training programmes enhances the skills of journalists and enables them to perform their roles professionally in a rapidly changing world where digitization and cybersecurity are among the most pressing issues. She expressed her pride in working with the IDSC, UNDP, and MCS on this initiative, stating: “Professional media that is equipped with modern tools and attuned to digital developments is essential for building a safe digital society and safeguarding the future of institutional journalism.”

Dr. Yasser Abdel Aziz, Chair of the Competition’s Award Committee, praised the quality and diversity of the submitted stories, noting that participants made the most of the training sessions, discussions, and technical tools provided. He emphasized that selecting the winners was not easy given the strength and alignment of the entries with the judging criteria.

Important to note that the programme engaged over 60 journalists from more than 20 Egyptian media organizations. Participants explored key dimensions of cybersecurity in response to the growing significance of the issue and the rise of cyber threats locally, regionally, and globally.The training modules covered fundamentals of cybersecurity, including understanding the basic concepts of protection from cyberattacks and encryption, journalistic approaches to simplifying technical information for general audiences, using data and statistics to strengthen media coverage, source verification and reliability in cybersecurity reporting, case studies of leading international and local media coverage, ethical considerations in reporting on cybersecurity incidents and emerging tools and techniques for investigative and feature reporting in the field.

For media inquiries:

Please contact: Fatma Elzahraa Yassin, Communications Lead at Fatma.yassin@undp.org