Saudi Arabia to Host MENA’s Largest Cybersecurity Event

Saudi Arabia develops cybersecurity capabilities to limit cyberattacks (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia develops cybersecurity capabilities to limit cyberattacks (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia to Host MENA’s Largest Cybersecurity Event

Saudi Arabia develops cybersecurity capabilities to limit cyberattacks (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia develops cybersecurity capabilities to limit cyberattacks (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia will host the international Black Hat event in mid-November, the largest cybersecurity event in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA), bringing together the most important cybersecurity experts worldwide.

The event is organized in cooperation between the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones (SAFCSP) and Informa Tech, in partnership with the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), as part of the Riyadh Season 2022 activities.

The three-day event starts on Nov. 15 at the Riyadh Front Center.

The Black Hat event brings together a group of the most prominent experts and speakers in the field of cybersecurity, with more than 200 officials of the most important authorities in the world.

Black Hat includes training courses with accredited certificates, sessions, workshops, and several competitions with prizes amounting to more than $266,000.

The event targets experts, amateurs, and those interested in cybersecurity.

It also includes an activity area sponsored by NEOM. It has a “Capture the Flag” competition, where competitors take on many challenges to gather the largest number of flags, such as exploiting the loopholes of websites, digital forensic analysis, reverse engineering, encryption, and others.

The competition includes the participation of 1,000 contestants representing 200 teams from 35 countries, competing over three days for the competition prizes, amounting to $186,000.

The activity area also includes the “Gap Rewards Platform” competition, which motivates participants to discover security gaps in actual companies and the total prizes totaling $80,000.

The activity area also includes the “Cyber Village,” with six different challenges, including the car hacking challenge, which aims to educate security experts about the functions of vehicle systems and provide them with practical experience.

The second is the unlocking challenge, a physical security experience where visitors can identify weaknesses in different locks.

The room escape challenge is based on team cooperation, where the contestants solve a series of puzzles within a limited time frame.



Abu Dhabi's MAIR Group to List in Abu Dhabi Next Month

Abu Dhabi's MAIR Group to List in Abu Dhabi Next Month
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Abu Dhabi's MAIR Group to List in Abu Dhabi Next Month

Abu Dhabi's MAIR Group to List in Abu Dhabi Next Month

Abu Dhabi-based MAIR Group, an investment firm active in sectors including food retail and commercial real estate, said on Thursday it would list on the local bourse next month.

The company, which operates over 100 stores in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the ADCOOP and SPAR brands, said in a statement the listing on the Abu Dhabi securities exchange (ADX) would take place on Dec. 9.

It did not disclose the amount of stock shareholders and employees plan to sell through the so-called direct listing, which takes place when a company offers shares to the public without going through a bank-backed initial public offering, Reuters reported.

As MAIR prepares to list "we are ready to amplify our impact, strengthen our foundations, and invite stakeholders to join our journey," Managing Director and CEO Nehayan Al Ameri said.

MAIR, which also manages more than 12 shopping centers through its commercial real estate division, booked revenues of 1.2 billion dirhams ($326.7 million) in the first half of 2024.

Last year, it distributed 135 million dirhams in dividends, equal to 12.11% of the share capital, to its over 12,000 shareholders.