@Hack, the largest cybersecurity event in the area, will take place from November 28th to November 30th as part of Riyadh’s 2021 season of events. Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) announced that registrations are still open for the event. The GEA, Black Hat, and the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity Programming and Drones collaborated on this project (SAFCSP).
“We are just a week away from hosting the regions largest cybersecurity event and registrations are still open for anyone interested in attending. It is one of the largest Infosec events ever organized and brings some of the world’s most renowned cybersecurity experts to Saudi Arabia. It is a valuable opportunity for IT and technology professionals to collaborate and learn from each other on the latest developments in the field of cybersecurity,” said Faisal Al-Khamisi, Chairman, SAFCSP.
“@HACK is a unique opportunity for anyone interested in the cybersecurity field and will bring together professionals from across the region and around the world. As the threats posed by cybersecurity continue to evolve those that attend the event will be able to gain invaluable knowledge from global experts, see the latest cutting-edge technology in action and network with industry figures in person,” said Mike Champion, Regional Executive Vice President of Informa Markets.
He added, at its launch @Hack is 3x larger than any other regional cyber security event and has attained the amazing feat of being one of the largest in the world – only in Saudi Arabia could this happen, a country that is experiencing one of the most rapid and remarkable digital transformations anywhere.
The Riyadh Front Expo Centre, one of Riyadh’s primary entertainment districts, will host this global event, which will be the region’s largest cybersecurity event. This will invite the world’s greatest cyber security innovators to display their defensive and offensive solutions to one of the most rich and attractive locations for special events.
The event, which is being held in the Kingdom for the first time, will feature unique activities aimed at transferring expertise and developing the subject of cybersecurity. It will welcome professionals from Offensive Security (FBI trainers) for information security training, as well as the largest “Capture the Flag” challenge in the Middle East and the “BugBounty platform” challenge with a one million riyal prize pool.
@Hack will also offer a variety of cybersecurity training classes at various levels and the “Executive Summit,” where C-Level executives from multinational corporations from across the world will convene to share their expertise and knowledge in the sector form professional partnerships. Spire Products, Cisco, IBM, Trendmicro, STC, Security Matterz, Infoblox Palo Alto, Attivo Networks, and Fortinet will be among the world’s largest cyber brands demonstrating their solutions, along with 50+ cutting-edge cyber startups.
@Hack Challenges, which are cybersecurity challenges with prizes of up to 1,000,000 riyals, will be held throughout the event. These will be split into two challenges that will last the duration of the competition. The first is Capture the Flag, a competition between the top 1000 competitors, who will be separated into teams and eliminated in a small challenge throughout the event’s first two days. The BugBounty Platform challenge takes place on the first day of the conference and lasts for eight hours, with the best 80 security researchers from across the region taking part. They’ll compete to solve problems and find weaknesses for the companies taking part in the challenge. The winners will be declared on the event’s final day.
The event was officially announced in August as part of Launch KSA, the largest tech launch of its kind in the MENA area when the Kingdom revealed a number of noteworthy projects and technological programs. These initiatives aim to improve digital capabilities, fulfill the Kingdom’s goal of having a programmer for every 100 Saudis by 2030, foster innovation and creativity, and gain worldwide leadership.
This is in response to the Crown Prince’s leadership, HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, and in order to realize the Kingdom’s vision of seizing the opportunities of the digital economy.
