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Why this Russian hackathon draws cybersecurity professionals from Middle East
Under the bright Moscow sunlight, the majestic Luzhniki Stadium, which famously hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics and the final of the 2018 Fifa World Cup, opened its doors to tech experts for a high-profile international cybersecurity festival last month.
Arenas such as the Luzhniki Stadium resemble a cauldron in the middle of a sporting slugfest. But during the three-day festival (May 22-24), one of the world's most iconic sporting venues seemed like an exhibition centre where thousands of people arrived to get a glimpse of the latest advancements in the war on cyberattacks.
The irony was not lost on footballing connoisseurs as it was at the Luzhniki Stadium that the video referral technology was used for the first time in a Fifa World Cup when the Kylian Mbappe-inspired France were awarded a penalty during their 4-2 victory in the final against Croatia after a VAR (Video Assistant Referee) consultation by Argentinian on-field referee Nestor Pitana.
While technology has played a big role in neutralising human errors from referees, umpires and line judges in the sporting world, it can cripple human life when hackers penetrate computer systems.
Given that context, Positive Hack Days (PHD), the cybersecurity festival hosted by Positive Technologies, is a significant platform for a secure digital future.
The event — supported by the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia — saw prominent government officials, cybersecurity experts and ethical hackers from Asia, South America, Africa, and the Middle East share their knowledge on countermeasures against threats posed by hackers.
Ali Azzam, the Egypt-based Vice President of Mideast Communication Systems, underlined the importance of cybersecurity festivals such as the PHD in the current global environment.
'As the official distributor of Positive Technologies in the Middle East and Africa, we are thrilled to be attending Positive Hack Days Fest. This is our second time participating in this event, and it provides a fantastic opportunity to connect with cybersecurity experts from around the world,' Azzam said.
'Positive Technologies offers a range of unique cybersecurity solutions and has significant strengths and key advantages in various sectors. We believe it is essential for us to encourage Egyptians to attend this festival, as they can gain valuable insights that can be applied to the Middle Eastern industries.'
With more than 150,00 visitors and 180,000 online viewers, the 2025 edition of the Positive Hack Days was the biggest since its inception in 2011.
Among the attendees was Tushar Dinesh Vartak, Chief Information Security Officer of the UAE's RAKBank.
'Today's cybersecurity leaders must speak the language of top management and understand business processes to implement proactive, business-aligned security strategies,' Vartak said.
Vikneswaran Rajagopalan, a Dubai-based cybersecurity professional, revealed why it was so important to attend this cybersecurity festival in Moscow.
'Two years ago we started focusing more on OT (Operational Technology). We have a protected system, but attacks are still happening. So that's why it's one of the reasons for us to be here at this festival to look at the new inventions and learn about the new roadmaps and how we can adapt all that to our system for better security,' Rajagopalan said during a media roundtable at Luzhniki Stadium on the first day of the festival. 'We are well aware of this annual event for a long time. It's one of the biggest hackathon events in the world. It's very important for us to be here and understand how the technology grows.
'And Russia is well-known for ethical hackers. So we are here to understand the new solutions so we can serve the customers even better and prevent the attacks.'
The festival also threw light on AI-driven fraud and the importance of regulatory reforms for business strategies.
'Today if you look at it, AI is the buzzword, everything revolves around AI. If I look at Positive Technologies, and I have been working with them for quite a long time, their research team is using the technology properly and it is giving very good results,' said Rajagopalan.
Hundreds of professionals from corporate houses across the world attended the event. While they compete for the attention of clients in the cut-throat world of business, what binds them together is the need for a secure digital future.
'The solution lies in jointly building a new digital architecture where collaboration becomes a strategic advantage, not dependency,' said Yury Maksimov, co-founder of Cyberus.
