HITBSecConf2007 in Dubai - A resounding success

HITBSecConf2007 - Dubai, organised by Malaysian-based Hack In The Box (M) Sdn. Bhd. officially ended on April 5th 2007. It was the first ever conference in the UAE to feature an extensive line-up of deep knowledge technical talks by some of the most widely respected minds in the network security industry.

The 4-day event featured an initial 2 days' of hands-on technical training sessions followed by 2 days of dual-track presentations, showcasing 18 conference speakers from 12 countries coming together to discuss their latest research and findings.

'The TRA team and I wish to extend our admiration to the conference organisers for an event well organised. I believe the event has been of an added value to the ICT sector in the UAE and I look forward for future cooperation [between TRA and HITB],' said Mr. Al Ghanim.

Conference keynote speakers featured F-Secure's Chief Research Officer Mr. Mikko Hypponen on Day 1 whose presentation discussed Online Crimes and Crimes Online while the 2nd day keynote was presented by Honeynet founder Mr. Lance Spitzner who spoke on Honeypots: Today and Tomorrow. Other noteworthy presentations included Robbing Banks (Easier Done Than Said), VBoot Kit (Compromising Vista Security), Opened in 10 Seconds: The Insecurity of Mechanical Locks, NGN Security (Next Generation Nightmare), Web 2.0 Hacking, Spam Goes VoIP and Kernel Hacking - If I Really Know I Can Hack.

Mr. Dino Covotsos, Managing Director of South African based Telespace and a first time HITBSecConf speaker, enthused 'HITBSecConf Dubai was a fantastic technical conference that exceeded all expectations that I could have had and we feel very privileged to have presented at a conference of such high standard.'

Another HITBSecConf signature event was also brought to Dubai - the Capture The Flag (CTF) 'live hacking' competition which this time saw three teams vying for prize money totaling USD6,000, sponsored by Scan Associates Berhad. The CTF which ran alongside the conference featured teams from US, Bulgaria and UAE respectively. While the Bulgarian team edged out both other teams with a slight margin, no winners were declared. As such the prize money has been brought forward to HITBSecConf2007 - Malaysia. In total, the Dubai event saw over a 100 attendees who represented nationalities from every continent and culminated in a reception party hosted by Microsoft Corporation for all speakers and delegates.

'We are extremely happy that the event was well received by not only attendees, but also by the UAE government. It will be our honour to accept His Excellency's invitation to return in 2008 with an even bigger line up of papers and speakers,' said Dhillon Andrew Kannabhiran, Founder and CEO of Hack In The Box.

'We received tremendous help and support from our local partners Scanit Middle East who were invaluable in making this event a success. The HITB Team and I look forward to continue working with Scanit and other GCC corporations for HITBSecConf2008 - Dubai which is tentatively slated for March' he added.

The next instalment in the HITBSecConf Series will HITBSecConf2007 - Malaysia which runs from September 3rd to 6th and features 4 keynote speakers, 40 researchers and 7 tracks of hands-on technical training sessions.