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.



Trump Touts ‘Done’ Deal with Beijing on Rare Earths, Chinese Students

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, right, shakes hands with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent before their meeting to discuss China-US trade, in London, Monday, June 9, 2025. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, right, shakes hands with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent before their meeting to discuss China-US trade, in London, Monday, June 9, 2025. (Xinhua via AP)
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Trump Touts ‘Done’ Deal with Beijing on Rare Earths, Chinese Students

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, right, shakes hands with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent before their meeting to discuss China-US trade, in London, Monday, June 9, 2025. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, right, shakes hands with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent before their meeting to discuss China-US trade, in London, Monday, June 9, 2025. (Xinhua via AP)

US President Donald Trump touted ties with China as "excellent" on Wednesday, saying the superpowers reached a deal after two days of talks aimed at preserving a truce in their damaging trade war.  

Trump said on his Truth Social platform that China would supply rare earth minerals and magnets -- vital elements for American industries -- while Washington would allow Chinese students to remain in US universities.  

His post came after top United States and Chinese negotiators announced a "framework" agreement late Tuesday following two days of marathon talks in London. 

"Our deal with China is done," Trump wrote, adding that the agreement was still "subject to final approval with President Xi (Jinping) and me." 

"President XI and I are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade," he said in a second post. "This would be a great WIN for both countries!!!"  

US stock markets showed little enthusiasm despite Trump's statements, but major indexes edged higher in early trading.  

- 'Candid' talks -  

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that it was possible to rebalance economic relations with China if Beijing proved a "reliable partner in trade negotiations."  

"If China will course-correct by upholding its end of the initial trade agreement we outlined in Geneva, and I believe after our talks in London they will, then the rebalancing of the world's two largest economies is possible," Bessent told lawmakers at the House Ways and Means Committee.  

The two sides agreed to reduce their tit-for-tat, triple-digit tariffs during talks in Geneva last month, but cracks appeared in the detente after Trump accused China of violating the deal.  

Washington was concerned at slower supplies of rare earths after Beijing in early April began requiring domestic exporters to apply for a license -- widely seen as a response to US tariffs.  

Rare earths are used in everything from electric vehicles to hard drives, wind turbines and missiles.  

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in London on Tuesday that US measures imposed when rare earths "were not coming" would likely be relaxed once Beijing moved forward with more license approvals.  

On Truth Social, Trump said China will supply "full magnets, and any necessary rare earths" up front.  

Washington has infuriated Beijing by vowing to revoke the visas of Chinese students, a major source of revenue for US universities.  

On Wednesday, Trump said: "We will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities."  

The US president also said that the United States applies 55 percent tariffs on Chinese goods -- a combination of his 30 percent additional levies this year and the rough average of pre-existing duties, a White House official said.  

He said Beijing charges 10 percent duties on US goods.  

The rates are the same as those that were previously agreed in the truce, which temporarily brought US tariffs down from 145 percent and those imposed by China from 125 percent.  

In a Chinese state media readout of the talks released Wednesday, Vice Premier He Lifeng, who headed Beijing's team in London, stressed the need for the two sides to strengthen cooperation in future dialogue.  

"As a next step, the two sides should... continuously enhance consensus, reduce misunderstandings and strengthen cooperation," He said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.  

Speaking to reporters in London, China International Trade Representative Li Chenggang earlier said: "Our communication has been very professional, rational, in-depth and candid."