Dubai Electronic Security Centre to host School of Cyber Defense competition at GISEC 2025

DUBAI, 3rd April, 2025 (WAM) – The Dubai Electronic Security Centre (DESC) plans to host the School of Cyber Defense (CTF) competition for university students, as part of its participation in the activities of the Gulf Information Security Exhibition and Conference (GISEC 2025) held at Dubai World Trade Centre from 6-8 May.
Organised by TechFirm with the support of DESC, the competition aims to equip students with practical cybersecurity skills, enhance their ability to counter cyber threats, and expand their knowledge in network security, operating systems, and incident response.
The competition’s qualifiers stage will take place online on 6-7 May followed by an in-person final on 8 May in Hall 8 at Dubai World Trade Centre. The top 50 students from the initial rounds will compete in a simulated real-world cybersecurity environment, tackling advanced challenges faced by industry professionals.
The Centre’s support for the School of Cyber Defense competition reflects its commitment to promoting cybersecurity awareness and skills among young people. By empowering the next generation, we are ensuring they are well-equipped to safeguard Dubai’s and the UAE’s digital infrastructure against evolving cyber threats.
The competition is open to university students from IT and cybersecurity-related disciplines at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD levels. Participants must hold a valid university ID. Ahead of the event, an online training session will be conducted on 21 April to prepare students for the competition.
From an initial pool of 200 participants, the top 50 will qualify for the final round, which follows the Blue Team model. Competitors will work on identifying security vulnerabilities and mitigating cyberattacks in advanced scenarios.
The top three winners will receive financial prizes totalling over AED 50,000, providing participants with an opportunity to gain recognition and advance their careers in cybersecurity.
DESC called on all university students in the UAE who are interested in participating in the competition to register via the website [https://gisec.ae/student-ctf-school-of-cyber-defense] by 16 April due to the limited number of seats. Finalists will be selected based on their performance in their qualifiers, conducted under the Capture The Flag (CTF system.
The competition will simulate real-world cyberattacks, with teams acting as Blue Team defenders using the Cyberworld platform to analyse Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) and respond to threats effectively.