Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Sep 05, 2025

Riyadh hosts Mideast’s first Black Hat tech event

Black Hat, the world’s largest technology event, launched its first Middle East edition in Riyadh, with more than 200 international speakers and up to 30,000 visitors expected to attend.
The three-day event, which will end on Nov. 17, has been organized by the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, in partnership with the General Entertainment Authority.

Riyadh is hosting the tech forum for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa region.

After the success of At Hack (@Hack) in the Saudi capital last year, Black Hat is boosting interest in cybersecurity, with more than 250 major companies, including Cisco, IBM, Spire and Infoblox, and at least 40 cybersecurity startups taking part.

In the opening ceremony, GEA Chairman Turki Al-Sheikh welcomed participants to the “most prominent technical event in cybersecurity globally from Las Vegas to Riyadh.”

Faisal Al-Khamisi, chairman of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, said that the Kingdom’s tech leadership in the region shows that it is “an ambitious and passionate country for knowledge that is based on youth, and its modern leadership has a clear vision led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”

The Black Hat event was launched with six areas: an executive summit, technical workshops, a business hall, the Arsenal, a training area, and an events area.

Mike Champion, regional executive vice president of Informa Tech, described the attendance figures as “overwhelming.”

“What I am seeing from here is a very vibrant, youthful, diverse, energetic, extrovert audience. There isn’t a place I’ve been that I can think of that has a young population that is so engaged, interested in technology, and an emerging professional class,” he told Arab News.

“Because of this, you have an exhibition that, despite only being in its second year, has the highest attendance worldwide. Black Hat US took 20 years to grow to this size. It’s taken Saudi Arabia only one year to get to a size like this.”

The event will feature 23 specialized cybersecurity training courses taught by 50 Black Hat certified instructors.

A hacking contest called “Capture the Flag” will include 1,000 participants striving to improve their ethical hacking abilities while competing for a cash prize of SR700,000 ($186,240).
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
×