Saudi’s @HACK redefines the cybersecurity landscape of the region

@HACK, the largest cybersecurity event in the Middle East and North Africa, has concluded after three days of expert discussions, knowledge sharing, education and hacking competitions that have redefined the cybersecurity landscape of the region.

Over 24,872 attendees from 70 countries joined the event in Riyadh, which was organised by the Saudi Federation of Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones (SAFCSP), and Informa Tech, in association with Black Hat.

Highlights of the show included a SAR1m hacking contest, keynote presentations from cybersecurity leaders, participation from ICT companies, and 600 hours of advanced training.

The @HACK Executive Summit featured some of the experts in the cybersecurity world presenting keynote addresses including ‘World Class Hacker’ Jayson E. Street, VP of InfoSec, SphereNY; Jenny Radcliffe – ‘The People Hacker’, founder and director of Human Factor Security, who was recognised as one of the top 25 Women in Cyber in 2020; and author, cryptographer, security critic and commentator Bruce Schneier, dubbed ‘The Security Guru’.

Over 200 expert speakers, including 50 Black Hat-approved trainers presented education and knowledge briefings on the latest developments in security, as part of @HACK’s programme to increase skills and capacity for Saudi Arabia’s technology community, and to ensure that the rapid digital transformation of the region remains on track and safe and secure from cybersecurity threats.

@HACK also set a new milestone for local hacking expertise, with the region’s largest ever Capture The Flag and Bug Bounty contests – with a prize pool of SAR1m. Over 1,000 competitors, from 20 countries worldwide battled it out over three days in a series of advanced challenges to test their skills in ethical hacking.

In the Capture the Flag contest, the winning team R3Billions from Egypt secured the grand prize of SAR300,000, and in the Bug Bounty competition top prize of SAR70,000 went to Abdulrahman Makki.

“What Riyadh has accomplished in one year would take 15 years anywhere else,” said Steve Wylie, vice president, Cybersecurity Market at Informa Tech.