Hack In the Box, a cutting-edge platform for technical presentations and cyber security knowledge training, has wrapped up HITB+CyberWeek 2021 in Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, capping off another resoundingly successful edition (ADNEC). The highly anticipated five-day hybrid event, brought to you by Disrupt AD, ADQ’s ventures platform connects pioneering, visionary, and entrepreneurial minds to displace the norm and scale globally from Abu Dhabi, lived up to its billing as the next meaningful step in cyber security industry progression.
Dhillon Kannabhiran, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, HITB, said: “With the cyber threat landscape expanding as our industry continues experiencing radical change, this year’s HITB+CyberWeek was perhaps the most important to date. The most practical way to drive required cyber security reform and implement innovative, next-generation measures is to bring the world’s greatest minds, influencers, talent, and professionals together. And upon reflection, this year’s event has certainly served as a platform to accelerate these efforts, emulating the success of previous editions and positioning the wider cyber community to realize its objectives and mandates in 2022 and beyond.”
In a new bid to examine the current cyber landscape, analyse its future trajectory, combat emerging threats, and establish a new cyber smart world – hosting conferences, exhibitions, competitions, and training opportunities – HITB+CyberWeek 2021 welcomed over 2,000 attendees and ten start-ups from around the world. The event finished with an action-packed final day in the UAE capital, which brought together the world’s finest cyber security specialists to share their latest expertise, ideas, and approaches with up-and-coming talent and the larger cyber community.
The end of the famed Pro Capture the Flag (PRO CTF) competition, which saw teams from all over the world compete for glory, USD 116 thousand, and extra bonus awards for university teams, was an HITB+CyberWeek fixture. The attack-defence format final featured 25 of the world’s top-ranked teams from various countries, with 16 competing on-site and another 9 competing online, as they attempted to detect vulnerabilities and perform the roles of both threat defenders and attackers. The PRO CTF competition lasted 30 hours and kept the audience entertained with live ranking updates on big screen scoreboards throughout the venue. Bushwhackers from Russia were crowned champions for the second year in a row, maintaining their unblemished record in the competition, followed by C4T BuT S4D and RedRocket from Russia and Germany, respectively.
