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Agora Group To Host Gulf Congress On Cybersecurity In Riyadh

The one-day event will take place on September 20th, and its goal is to highlight the challenges facing governments, businesses, and individuals.

Published

4 years ago

August 7, 2022

David Morelo

agora group to host gulf congress on cybersecurity in riyadh

As the largest information and communication technology (ICT) market in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is a prime target for cyber attacks. In 2020 alone, the Kingdom recorded over 22.5 million of them, and the figure is expected to keep increasing. To help keep the cyber threats of both today and tomorrow at bay, Agora Group will host over 200 international cyberwarfare experts at the 5th edition of the Gulf Congress on Cybersecurity in Riyadh.

The one-day event will take place on September 20th, and its goal is to highlight the challenges facing governments, businesses, and individuals in securing the acquisition, protection, and dissemination of data and information in an era of connectivity and mobility.

Here’s a list of the topics that will be the focus of the 5th edition of the Gulf Congress on Cybersecurity in Riyadh:

Smart Kingdom.
Integrating cybersecurity policies into the strategic mission of public and private institutions.
The new normal of work – post pandemic and future trends in remote working. How can cybersecurity cope?
Cybersecurity and AI an unbreakable bond in a future of automation and orchestration.
OT cybersecurity – half of all cyber attacks in the Middle East target the oil & gas industry. Previously, these attacks were focused on the IT environment, however, we’ve been seeing an increase in attacks on operational technology.
Data management, governance and protection.

“Our aim is to create a stimulating and invigorating convocation that links some of the foremost thinkers in the cybersecurity world today to share ideas, raise challenging questions, and inspire thought to action,” state the organizers of the event in the official press release.

Agora Group is expecting more than 150 senior-level attendees at the event. Those who would like to attend and take part in the event should hurry up and register today because seats are limited.

Related Topics:Cybersecurity Saudi Arabia

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News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.