The Middle East and Africa edition of Black Hat, held at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Centre in Malham from 1 to 3 December 2026: Briefings, Arsenal, an Executive Summit, a Capture the Flag hackathon, trainings and a large exhibition.
Black Hat Middle East and Africa, written Black Hat MEA, is an annual cybersecurity conference and exhibition held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It launched in 2021 as @Hack (first edition 28 to 30 November 2021) and was later rebranded as Black Hat MEA. The organiser describes it as a B2B cybersecurity event and says it is produced in association with the global Black Hat team. It combines an Executive Summit for CISOs, technical Briefings, the Arsenal open-source tool showcase, trainings, a business hall, startup and investor programmes, and a hands-on Activity Zone with competitions.
1 to 3 December 2026. Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Centre, Malham, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The organiser's FAQ says visitor and exhibitor opening times vary by pass and day and had not been published on 16 October 2026. The speakers page carries day headers of 2, 3 and 4 December, which contradict the 1 to 3 December dates on every other official page; this fiche follows the home page, the FAQ and the organiser's key-information page.
Tahaluf, together with the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP). The organiser's key-information page states that the event is co-organised by Tahaluf and SAFCSP, produced in association with Black Hat, and that Tahaluf is backed by Informa PLC, SAFCSP and the Events Investment Fund. The delegate terms are issued by Tahaluf Events Limited. The database and the earlier fiche named Informa as organiser; Informa is a backer of Tahaluf, not the named organiser on the official pages. Customer service is at BlackHatCS@Tahaluf.com, on +966 11 510 1913 by hotline and on WhatsApp at +966 55 595 3750, Sunday to Thursday, 9:00 to 17:00 KSA time. The database contact blackhatmeacs@informa.com is not shown on the official pages and is not used here.
More than 40,000 attendees at the 2025 edition, an organiser figure, with 500+ exhibiting brands, 330+ speakers, 250+ hours of content and 53,000 sqm of sold-out exhibition space. The organiser also says 67% of the 2025 audience were senior decision-makers. Its FAQ gives 130+ countries and its exhibitor FAQ gives participants from 135 countries, while the overview page says more than 100 countries, so the country count is not consistent (unverifiable information). The home page tile shows 30K in attendance (unverifiable information), which conflicts with 40,000+ on the tickets, FAQ and key-information pages. The key-information page lists attendance by year as 25,000+ in 2021, 30,000+ in 2022 and 40,000+ in each of 2023, 2024 and 2025. No 2026 attendance target is published as a number. The organiser lists attendee types as cybersecurity professionals, ethical hackers, government organisations, CISOs and enterprise security leaders, technology companies, investors, researchers and academics, startups and founders, and media and analysts. All of these are organiser figures and none is audited in the sources read.
The organiser's home page features six 2026 speakers: Alexandra Landegger (Corporate CISO, RTX), Chenxi Wang (General Partner, Rain Capital), John Opala (CISO, Ralph Lauren), Michael Adams (CISO, DocuSign), Helen Rabe (Global CISO, Ashurst) and Kevin Shin (CISO, Samsung Semiconductor). Status: published featured roster, partial. The organiser says 330+ speakers took part in 2025 and the Executive Summit page repeats 330+. The separate speakers page lists many more names under day headers of 2, 3 and 4 December, which are the 2025 dates, so it is not clear that the full list is the 2026 roster and it is not reproduced here (unverifiable information).
The organiser's 2026 pages name a Black Hat Campus, a DeepDive Stage (day one), Cyber Capital (day two, investment content), Gaming and Cyber (day two) and Black Hat HER (day three) in every pass. The 2026 CyberSeed startup competition offers one company a 30,000 USD equity-free prize. The investor programme sets a 2026 aim of 80+ investors, after 99 investors with about 14 billion USD in assets under management in 2025, both organiser figures. The Call for Papers for Briefings and Arsenal is closed. Compared with 2025, the organiser's speaker page and several other pages still show 2025 content, so what is new beyond this list is Not publicly disclosed.
The organiser's pages describe these strands over three days. No hour-by-hour schedule was published on 16 October 2026; the FAQ says the full agenda will be published closer to the event.
Executive Summit sessions, 20 or 40 minute Briefings talks with up to two presenters, 50 minute Arsenal sessions with up to two presenters, hands-on trainings of 10 to 50 participants delivered in person and in online academy sessions, live demonstrations, Capture the Flag and Bug Bounty competitions, startup pitches on the main stage, investor meetings and workshops.
Prices on the tickets page on 16 October 2026 are in US dollars, each shown beside a higher crossed-out standard price. The VAT treatment is not stated. Expo pass: free, with exhibition and Blacksite access, Briefings and Arsenal. Student pass: free, vetted, with a .edu email address required. Gold pass: 349 USD (399 USD crossed out), adding premium experience, Executive Summit reserved seating, Root Lounge access, two pre-arranged business meetings, invitation-only workshops and up to 30 CPD credits. CISO Pass: 349 USD (399 USD crossed out), Gold plus an exclusive CISO workshop, Black Hat After Hours invitation and welcome kit. Black pass: 2,499 USD (3,099 USD crossed out), everything in Gold plus one Black Hat training course. Investor passes are by application, and Press passes are free and by application. The FAQ says prices rise in phases and that passes can be upgraded subject to availability. Group bookings and enquiries go through the contact on the tickets page.
Briefings speakers are chosen by the Black Hat MEA Review Board for originality, technical depth and accuracy. The Call for Papers is closed: submissions closed with opening and closing dates shown as TBA, and notification to submitters on Monday 14 September 2026. The Arsenal call for tools is also closed, with the same notification date. Executive Summit and Cyber Capital speakers are not described as selected by open call. The speakers page shows an Apply button labelled Speak at Black Hat MEA 2026, and its terms could not be read. Trainers can register their interest through the 2026 trainer form; proposals go to the Black Hat MEA and SAFCSP Advisory Board.
Contact the sales team at sales@blackhatmea.com or use the 2026 exhibit enquiry form on the official site. The organiser says previous editions offered Strategic, Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsorship packages plus space-only and shell scheme stands, with venue branding, app placements and newsletters. No 2026 price list is published. The organiser reports the 53,000 sqm of 2025 exhibition space as sold out. Startups can apply to the Startup Program (Startup Pod and Scaleup Kiosk) at startups@blackhatmea.com, and investors at investor@blackhatmea.com.
Published roster on the organiser's supporters page, read 16 October 2026, by tier.
The page also lists unused tier names such as Digital Enabler and Education Partner with no companies. A separate exhibitor list with stand numbers is published; it showed at least 48 names on its first page, for example Cisco, Fortinet, Google Cloud EMEA, Cloudflare Middle East and Group-IB.
The organiser publishes no breakdown by company type. The sponsor and exhibitor lists point to security vendors and distributors (Cisco, Fortinet, Trend Micro, Tenable, Infoblox), Saudi and regional service providers and integrators (SITE, Haboob, GO Telecom, Cyberani by Aramco Digital), and cybersecurity startups. The organiser states that 67% of the 2025 audience were senior decision-makers and lists government organisations, investors and academics among attendees. Which type is the majority is Not publicly disclosed.
A free Press pass is offered on the tickets page for qualified media professionals, by application and subject to approval, and includes exhibition access, Press and Media access, early app and event access and fast-track badge collection. The FAQ says media accreditation details will be published when applications open, so the process had not been fully published on 16 October 2026. Media enquiries go to the communications contact on the official site.
Coverage found in the sources read: Eye of Riyadh (media partner) published an article on the 2025 edition titled "Black Hat MEA wraps its biggest edition yet", and Cyber Magazine (media partner) and Help Net Security carry event listings for the 2026 edition. The organiser lists its own awards, such as Best Commercial Team for Black Hat at the Exhibition News Awards 2025 and Best International Conference for Black Hat at the AEO Excellence Awards 2025, and a Guinness World Record for the 2024 Capture the Flag tournament. These are organiser statements and the awards were not checked with the award bodies.
Much of the visible coverage is placed: Eye of Riyadh (media partner) and Cyber Magazine (media partner) are named media partners on the organiser's supporters page, and the figures in their pieces repeat organiser numbers. Help Net Security's entry is an event listing. No independent audit of attendance, exhibitor or speaker numbers was found. Treat 40,000+ attendees, 500+ brands and 330+ speakers as organiser claims, internally inconsistent in places (the home page tile shows 30K).
Visitors who cannot arrange travel to Riyadh: most international visitors need a visa and a passport valid for six months, according to the organiser. Anyone under the age limit: the FAQ says 16 and over and the tickets page says 18 and over, so the limit is unclear and the stricter figure should be assumed. Researchers who missed the Call for Papers, which is closed for 2026. Buyers who want a compact, research-only meeting: the organiser describes a 500-brand exhibition and 40,000-plus crowd, with Briefings as one of several strands.
It is one of the regional Black Hat events. The global Black Hat site, read 16 October 2026, lists Black Hat India 2026, Black Hat Middle East and Africa 2026, Black Hat Europe on 7 to 10 December 2026 at ExCeL London, and Black Hat Asia on 28 February to 3 March 2027 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, and links its MEA tile to blackhatmea.com. MEA falls in the week before Europe. The organiser's key-information page describes the event as one of the world's largest cybersecurity events by attendance (organiser statement).
No. Black Hat MEA is held in Riyadh, annually, since the first edition as @Hack in November 2021. Other regional events carry the Black Hat name in India, Europe and Asia with separate organisers' pages, but they are not MEA editions.
The official site is offered in English and Arabic. The language of sessions is Not publicly disclosed; the Briefings, Executive Summit and speaker pages are in English.
Not publicly disclosed. No livestream, hybrid pass or replay offer was found for the 2026 edition. The delegate terms say the organiser may convert an in-person registration to an online one if an in-person event becomes impracticable. The trainings page mentions online academy sessions for trainings.
Under the delegate terms of Tahaluf Events Limited, which the FAQ summarises: cancelling more than 28 days before the first session date costs 0% of the fee, 14 to 28 days before costs 50%, and less than 14 days before costs 100%. Failure to attend gives no refund, and the organiser may issue a credit note for the next edition. Registrations are non-transferable under those terms. The tickets page says instead that tickets are non-refundable and may be transferred subject to approval, so the two pages disagree. Payment is due no later than 48 hours before the opening date. Confirm the terms at checkout.
Yes, according to the organiser's FAQ: the venue has step-free access and facilities for visitors with accessibility requirements, and on-site help desks are planned. A companion or personal assistant must register as an attendee, and the customer service team can be contacted before travel to request support. A code of conduct is published.
The venue is in Malham, north of central Riyadh. The nearest airport is King Khalid International Airport. By car, taxi or rideshare, use Al Qassim Road and enter through the Falcon Gate. Passes include Root Bus Transport between SAB Metro and Malham, and Gold, Black and Founder passes include bus transport; valet parking comes with Gold and Black passes. The official hotel partner is HotelMap. Most international visitors need a visa; citizens of more than 60 countries may be eligible for an e-visa, according to the organiser.
Because the scale is the proposition: the organiser reports 40,000+ attendees, 500+ brands and 330+ speakers in 2025, and puts a Guinness World Record Capture the Flag, a prize-driven Activity Zone and a CISO-focused Executive Summit under one roof. It is also anchored in Saudi policy, with SAFCSP as co-organiser and the event framed as support for Vision 2030. That makes it a route to Gulf buyers and talent, more than a research disclosure venue.
Because every number is the organiser's, and they do not agree with each other: the home page tile shows 30K in attendance while other pages say 40,000+, the country count is 100+, 130+ or 135, Briefings are 120+ or 150+, and the refund and age rules differ between the tickets page and the FAQ. The crossed-out ticket prices are the organiser's own standard prices. Reconfirm anything you will act on on the official tickets and FAQ pages before booking.
Official site: https://blackhatmea.com/. The global Black Hat site, blackhat.com, links to it. Key information: https://blackhatmea.com/about-us/key-information. Tickets: https://blackhatmea.com/tickets-2026. FAQ: https://blackhatmea.com/faq. Delegate terms: https://blackhatmea.com/terms-and-conditions/delegate-tcs-and-cs. Contacts: BlackHatCS@Tahaluf.com (customer service), sales@blackhatmea.com (exhibiting and sponsorship), investor@blackhatmea.com, startups@blackhatmea.com.