Cyber Battle of the Emirates victors crowned as future cyber warriors turn up the heat in Abu Dhabi during HITB+CyberWeek 2019

Champions have been crowned and future cyber warriors unearthed following a grueling Cyber Battle of the Emirates (CBOE) finale, held during Day 3 of HITB+CyberWeek 2019 in Abu Dhabi. Presented by Hack In The Box (HITB), a cutting-edge platform for technical talks and trainings in cyber security knowledge, HITB+CyberWeek provided the ultimate arena for the UAE teams to battle against each other. The winning team, ENIGMA, which composed of four cyber warriors Aseel Babhair, Rami Altai, Mohamed Hamouda, and Youssef Awad, won a nerve-wracking competition with a score of 2391 points, followed by the DEDSEC team who achieved 1680 points.

The youthful Enigma team, consisting of four hackers between the ages of 19 and 24, began its CBOE journey four years ago by participating in various competitions. One of the team members, who was driven to pursue a future in the cyber world following his computer being hacked as kid, said the CBOE experience provided an interactive experience that set itself apart from other competitions. 

“The attack and defense style of the CBOE has been a truly amazing experience for Enigma. The formulation of CBOE offers a pinnacle event to have in the region, and has been very effective in raising awareness for students and future talent. This enables us to join and build a sense of community by interacting with like-minded peers, which is often hard to find in the Middle East.”

Crowned as the UAE cyber warriors, the Enigma team will now face-off against the best Capture the Flag (CTF) teams the world has to offer in the Pro Capture the Flag (PROCTF) on 15 to 17 October at HITB+CyberWeek, to be in the running to win US$100,000 in cash. The ENIGMA team also wins a trip to HITB Amsterdam in 2020.

“The evolutionary journey of CBOE has always been envisioned to create an influential and inspiring pipeline for the cyber talents of tomorrow,” said Dhillon Kannabhiran, Founder and CEO of HITB.

“Culminating in this exhilarating final during HITB+CyberWeek, the CBOE format has metamorphosed into a rare opportunity for emerging cyber stars to learn, upskill, and prove their worth to the world in light of the disparaging cybersecurity landscape of the digital era. We are thrilled with the turnout for the event and are honored to be nurturing and propelling the budding wave of next-generation UAE cyber warriors.”

CBOE 2019 is a training program and hacking competition for high school and university students based in the UAE. The event hosted 50 of the UAE’s best future cyber warriors doing battle in the ultimate attack and defense CTF competition.