Riyadh, December 2, 2025 — The fourth edition of Black Hat Middle East and Africa 2025 opened today in the Saudi capital, organized by the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones together with Tahaluf — the joint venture between the federation, the Events Investment Fund and Informa — running from December 2 to 4 at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center (Malham).

This year's edition drew an exceptional turnout exceeding 50,000 professionals and visitors from 163 countries, making it the largest global gathering in the cybersecurity sector, according to Mutib Al-Qanai, CEO of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones. Al-Qanai said the 2025 edition hosts more than 500 companies, 66 percent of them international, alongside 300 speakers delivering over 200 hours of advanced technical content — a rise of more than 35 percent from last year — reflecting the Kingdom's growing strength as a regional and global hub for the cybersecurity industry.

Al-Qanai added that senior executives make up 50 percent of total attendance, underscoring the event's rising impact in supporting the business environment and expanding investment opportunities in the Kingdom's cybersecurity sector. The opening also featured a showcase of startups that first launched at previous editions of Black Hat: DataLexing has expanded its services to 41 countries and more than 3,500 clients, Spidersilk has raised around $9 million and returns this year as a lead exhibitor, while Solidrange achieved growth exceeding 450 percent in a single year as a result of opportunities the event provided.

On capacity-building, Al-Qanai announced the launch of a five-day training programme in partnership with leading global institutions such as CQURE and OffSec, which achieved a 92 percent satisfaction rate in previous editions, in addition to the participation of hundreds of residents from the Malham area within the organizing and event-management teams.

Black Hat Middle East and Africa continues through December 4, featuring advanced workshops, specialized technical sessions and innovation platforms, along with a startup competition whose winner will qualify to take part in Black Hat USA 2026.