Fostering disruptive innovations from young minds throughout the region

Dubai, UAE, May 01, 2019:  Dubai Electronic Security Center recently organized in partnership with Comae Technologies a conference technically titled as (OPCDE) which hosted more than 200 delegates. The technical cyber security conference (OPCDE) gathered security researchers, professionals and cyber security specialists, as part of its determined push to curb incidents of cyber security threats.

 The OPCDE conference featured world-renowned speakers who shared insights on the latest research, threats, and trends in cyber security, including experts from Google, Microsoft, FireEye, and Crowdfense.

“At OPCDE, we brought together renowned national and international experts who shared the latest cyber security practices while correlating these with emerging technologies. This will raise public awareness about risks and the important role of security in the digital age and cater to the growing demand in the market for cyber education and training.”  said Dr. Marwan Al Zarouni, Director of Information Services at DESC, who delivered the keynote address during the event

“This third edition of OPCDE was another successful milestone for the local ecosystem, bringing some of the best international and local security researchers together. This is another step for Dubai in nurturing. A strong local talent pool in order to become a global hub.” Said Matt Suiche, founder of OPCDE

Aside from keynote speeches, one of the event’s highlights was the Capture the Flag (CTF) competition, which was organized by Hackers Academy with support from NYUAD. The competition was aimed at encouraging and fostering youth talent in the field, featuring challenges in different categories like reverse engineering, web security, digital forensics, network security and others. 

From the 35 participants, three winning teams emerged - PonyPaw, Team404 and WosWos, who were awarded cash prizes by Hackers Academy, Emirates Digital Association for Women, and security keys by The Kernel Dubai. 

“It is important to empower the next generation of digital talent and equip them with the technical skills needed, DESC is supporting and partnering with initiatives and opportunities like OPCDE. It is events like these that help us take a step forward to realizing Dubai government's efforts and achieving our plans and initiatives for solving the cyber security challenges and building a secure and resilient cyber space for Dubai,” Zarouni ended.