News

Riyadh’s Black Hat MEA Exhibition Will Be The Biggest Yet

The event is now 60% larger and will feature a new Black Hat Campus, Deep Dive Stage, Investor Program, CyberSeed Startup Competition, and more.

Published

3 years ago

October 24, 2023

Nour Nasir

Black Hat MEA

Black Hat Middle East and Africa (MEA), is the cybersecurity industry’s fastest-growing cybersecurity expo, and will soon open its doors in a three-day event at the Riyadh Front Exhibition & Convention Center, November 14-16.

Black Hat MEA 2023 is the world’s largest cyber security event, with 40,000 attendees. The expo will feature 300 exhibitors and 100 speakers, all connected by the “Infosec on the Edge” theme. The conference has attracted many industry heavy-hitters, including Cisco, Huawei, Ali Baba Cloud, Palo Alto, Kaspersky, and Zscaler, whose Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer Sam Curry explained the importance of the event:

“The rapid pace of innovation among attackers demands innovation and application of new approaches to cybersecurity like ZeroTrust and applied Artificial Intelligence. That starts with a cultural nexus like Black Hat MEA in Riyadh, where we bring together the global cyber community and open the doors to the next generation because, in cyber, diversity and inclusion aren’t just the right thing to do; they are a competitive advantage and the key to the future of the digital world”.

black hat middle east and africa 2023

Highlights for 2023 include a Black Hat Campus and Deep Dive Stage, where cyber experts explore prevailing cybersecurity threats, and an Investor Program, where 80 potential backers will hunt for promising startups to fund.

Meanwhile, developers will showcase open-source tools and products in a section of the center called The Arsenal. Finally, an ethical hacking Capture The Flag tournament will take place in the Activities Zone, with 1,000 participants in 250 teams using their forensic, crypto, and reverse engineering skills to grab a portion of the USD 187,000 prize fund.

Also Read: The Largest Data Breaches In The Middle East

As cyberattacks become increasingly sophisticated, public and private companies in the MEA region and beyond are coming together to search for meaningful technologies and solutions to combat them. Black Hat MEA will act as a key conduit and meeting place for world-renowned experts to share ideas and develop defensive measures.

Exhibitor and attendee registrations for the Black Hat MEA event are open now at BlackHatMEA.com.

News

Syria Just Got Its First Super App Featuring Built-In Digital Payments

Built by UAE-based Syrian founders with the Ministry of Tourism’s backing, My Syria lands as visitor numbers more than double.

Published

5 days ago

August 1, 2026

Nour Nasir

syria just got its first super app featuring built-in digital payments

For most of the past decade, paying for anything in Syria with an international card was effectively impossible. Sanctions, a collapsed banking sector, and years of isolation left the country running on cash. That is what makes the launch of My Syria — the country’s first super app — more than a routine product announcement.

Developed by 121 Living, a company founded by four UAE-based Syrian entrepreneurs — Rami Kaiem, Feras Kaiem, Waseem Qudmani, and Kinan Madi — the app launched in Damascus on July 30 under the patronage of Minister of Tourism Mazen Al-Salhani. It bundles hotels, restaurants, transport, attractions, food delivery, and other lifestyle services into a single platform, currently offering eight services with plans to expand to more than 40 verified tourism and hospitality providers across the country.

Although the app already sounds enticing, the headline feature is its built-in payments. My Syria is the first platform in Syria to support cross-border digital payments through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express — familiar tools for international visitors, and a route into the digital economy for local businesses that have long operated outside it.

my syria super app launch event

The launch rides on a sharp rebound for the troubled country. Syria’s tourism sector recorded 3.52 million visitor arrivals in the first half of 2026, a 111 percent increase over the 1.67 million during the same period in 2025 — a mix of returning expatriates, regional visitors, and international tourists.

Also Read: This UAE Platform Wants To Replace Fashion Photo Shoots With AI

The Ministry of Tourism, which supported and supervised the app’s development, frames the launch as proof of concept for a wider strategy. “Digital transformation is one of the Ministry’s strategic priorities because it enables us to build a more competitive, connected and investment-ready tourism sector,” Al-Salhani said, inviting technology companies “globally, regionally and locally” to explore opportunities across the wider economy.

For 121 Living, this is phase one, with additional services and expanded geographic coverage planned. Whether a super app can flourish in a market still rebuilding its infrastructure is an open question, but for the first time in years, a visitor to Damascus can pay for dinner with their phone.