JEDDAH: More than 100 Saudi students are expected to participate in the two-day Hackathon being held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Riyadh on Nov. 6 and 7.

The competition is being held during information security expert VirtuPort’s 6th annual Middle East & North Africa Information Security Conference. 

VirtuPort’s CEO Samer Omar said the event, the Cyber Saber Hackathon 2018, will include more advanced challenges than previously seen in the region as students tackle hundreds of scenarios in a virtual environment of a city.

“The total number of participating universities is estimated to be 20 — both private and public — who will represent their capabilities,” said Omar. 

It is the second year that the hackathon has been held in Riyadh. Next year it is planned to extend the event to other cities in the Middle East.

Students will get a chance to practice their response to mock-ups of real-life cybersecurity challenges in a city, such as attacks on financial districts and airports.

Omar said students will be able to experience the responsibility associated with protecting businesses, preparing them to be cyber assets for Saudi Arabia in future. There is a severe shortage of people with cybersecurity skills.

The competition is licensed and authorized by Saudi Federation for Cyber Security, Programming and Drones, which oversees this sector in the Kingdom. 

VirtuPort’s Cyber Saber Hackathon 2018 is sponsored by STC Business.