The Blacksite

An off-grid cyber playground where serious skills meet playful experimentation.

The Blacksite is where cybersecurity becomes something you experience live. Built inside Black Hat MEA, it brings together hands-on challenges, live competitions, and practical environments where participants test, break, learn, and try again.

What makes The Blacksite different?

The Blacksite adds a more practical edge to Black Hat MEA. It is where curiosity becomes action, where technical thinking is made visible, and where visitors can move from observing cybersecurity to experiencing it live.

Inside, students build confidence, practitioners sharpen skills, and employers get a clearer view of how people think under pressure.

The Blacksite in numbers:

3,500sqm

1 CTF

4 Activity Villages

500+ activity participants

8,000+ zone visitors

SAR 790,000+ in Prizes

Students and emerging talent

Leave with skills you can apply in the real world.

Practitioners

Sharpen technique through hands-on problem solving.

CISOs and employers

See technical thinking in action and spot emerging talent.

Experiences inside The Blacksite

Previous editions of The Blacksite brought visitors closer to practical cybersecurity environments across transport, payments, digital forensics, mobile networks, gaming, healthcare, and connected devices.

Payment Systems Compromise

Gaming Cracking

Digital Forensics

Medical Device Compromise

Smart Home Compromise

Competitions & Activities

Capture The Flag

The Guinness World Record holder for the largest Capture The Flag returns to Black Hat MEA, bringing teams, pressure, and high-stakes competition back to Riyadh.

Explore Capture The Flag

Bug Bounty Cup

A live competition built around real-world bug hunting, giving selected participants the chance to test their skills against real targets across three days.

Explore Bug Bounty Cup

Ready to step inside The Blacksite?

Whether you want to compete, test your thinking, or experience cybersecurity in a more hands-on way, The Blacksite gives you a different route through Black Hat MEA.