Students in the UAE had the opportunity to participate in a cybersecurity competition, entitled “Capture The Flag!”. The competition aimed to uncover young cybersecurity talents in the UAE, and took place at the OPCDE_ conference on the 27th of April, 2017 in the Emirates Towers. The event was co-organised by Comae Technologies and CyberTalents with the support of the Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC) as a strategic partner.

The competition supports the cyber security educational programs of academic institutions, to create career opportunities and reinforce innovative efforts to increase the number of graduates in this field.

During the competition, contestants demonstrated their technical capabilities by simulating real life activities, networking and collaborating. Every team had a list of challenges in different categories, such as Reverse Engineering, Web Security, Digital Forensics, Network Security and more. Each team received a certain amount of points for every challenge they solved depending upon its difficulty.

The first winning team, 0xPharaohs, from the American University of Sharjah received a cash prize of $5,000 USD sponsored by Dell SecureWorks. Also, the team selected as a rising UAE Star, KU1337, from Khalifa University received a cash prize of $2,000 USD. The third placed team, called By Noon, was formed of a group of girls also from Khalifa University. All remaining participants were also recognized for their efforts in the completion. The winning team qualified to compete in regional and global CTFs in the future.