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Supported By

Sponsors & Partners

Official Government Cyber Resilience Partner

Official Government AI Cybersecurity Partner

Official Government Cybersecurity Partner

Official Cyber Resilience Partner

Official Government CyberTech Partner

Official Government Advisory Partner

Strategic Cybersecurity Partner

Strategic Partner

Networking Partner

Media Partner

Supporting Partners 2025

Department of Municipalities and Transport

Sponsors 2025

Media Partners 2025

About the Summit

As digital transformation accelerates across the UAE’s government and public sector, cybersecurity remains a top national priority. With cyber threats becoming increasingly sophisticated—from AI-powered attacks to critical infrastructure vulnerabilities—the need for collaboration, innovation, and resilience has never been greater.

The 3rd Government Cybersecurity Summit will bring together UAE government leaders, regulators, global cybersecurity experts, and technology innovators to share insights, showcase strategies, and drive secure digital growth.

Market Overview

The UAE’s advanced digital transformation and high internet penetration have led to a 20% rise in cyberattacks in 2023, targeting critical sectors like finance and energy, driving demand for AIdriven threat detection and Zero Trust solutions.

The GCC faces rising cyber threats due to rapid digital transformation and strategic importance, prompting significant investments in AI-driven cybersecurity by governments and private sectors.

UAE government is strengthening cybersecurity through initiatives, fostering public-private partnerships, research, training, and investing in the Cybersecurity Council and public sector defenses.

Initiatives like the UAE Cybersecurity Strategy and Saudi Vision 2030 drive growth by emphasizing resilient digital infrastructures and stringent regulations, leading both public and private sectors to invest in compliance solutions and cybersecurity tools.

The UAE cybersecurity market, projected to grow at a 12.1% CAGR by 2028, is driven by cloud adoption, IoT, smart cities, and increased investments in IAM, SIEM, managed services, and local cybersecurity startups.

The rapid adoption of cloud computing, IoT, and AI in the GCC is driving demand for specialized security solutions, with investments focused on cloud security, advanced threat intelligence, and industry-specific cybersecurity tools for sectors like healthcare and smart cities.

Event Features

Day International Summit

Attendees

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Government & Industry Decision Makers

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Speakers and Panelists

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Leadership Panel Discussions

Cyber Innovation Sessions

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Sponsors & Exhibitors

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Media Partners

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Key Topics

NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY STRATEGIES 2026

Building resilient digital ecosystems.

AI IN CYBERSECURITY

From predictive threat detection to autonomous defence.

CLOUD & APPLICATION SECURITY

Securing public sector modernization.

ZERO TRUST ARCHITECTURES

Rethinking identity, access, and data protection.

CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION

Protecting critical national infrastructure.

THE HUMAN FACTOR

Cyber awareness, skills, and culture in government.

Speakers

H.E. Dr. Mohamed Alkuwaiti

Head of Cybersecurity

UAE Government

H.E. Eng. Mohammad Al-Samadi

President

National Cybersecurity Centre Jordan

H.E. Najyb Al Maskari

Executive Director- Government Cybersecurity Operations

Department of Government Enablement

H.E. Dr. Omar Al Shaiba

Executive Director - Digital Transformation, Data, & AI Sector

Department of Municipalities &
Transport

H.E. Dr. Alfredo Suárez Mieses

Deputy Chief of Mission and Head of Political Affairs and Cooperation

Dominican Republic to the UAE

Jamal Saleh

Director General

UAE Banks Federation

Dr. Nader M. Ghazal

Chairman

African-Asian Council for AI &
Cybersecurity

Ziad Nasrallah

Partner and Cyber Platform Lead – IMEA

Oliver Wyman

Dr. Ebrahim Al Alkeem

Director - National Risk & Policies Department General Secretariat

NAMLCFTC

Hessa Issa Mohammed Taher

Chief Information Security Officer

Abu Dhabi Customs

Dr. Abdalla Al Hammadi

Chief Innovation Officer & Director of Strategy and Future Department

Ministry of Justice UAE

Fayez Ibbini

Co-Founder & CEO

Alpha Data

Keirin Lee

Partner

Oliver Wyman

Bilal Baig

VP - Solution Engineering - AMEA

TrendAI

Biju Hameed Kayal

Director Business Technology Infrastructure Operations

Dubai Airports

‏Janne Hirvimies

Chief Technology Officer

QuantumGate

Emad Haffar

Head of Security Consultant Team – META

Kaspersky

Saif Alrefai

Director of Solution Engineering

Opswat

Dr. Claude Fachkha

Associate Professor & Cybersecurity Expert

University of Dubai

Radu Balanescu

Principal

Boston Consulting Group

Nabeel Amjad

Chief Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Officer

PureCS

Jorge Fernandes

Founder and CEO

iblades.ai

Vijay Velayutham

Principal Information Security Officer

Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure

Haitham Saif

Chief Technology Officer

HPE

Sharef Hlal

Regional Head - Business Growth & Customer Operations (CI, META)

Group IB

Imane Rai

Project Leader

Boston Consulting Group

Salim Mohamed Alshaami

Director - Government Relations and Digital Transformation

Sharjah Research Technology &
Innovation Park

Marzouq Alnuaimi

Vice President – Information & Cybersecurity

Velora Aviation

Mohamad Almaleki

Head of Information Security Office

Federal Tax Authority

Fayid Kadambodan

Assistant Director - Enterprise Solutions

Dubai Integrated Economic Zones

Hessa Al Matrooshi

Team Lead – Information Security (formerly titled “Director”)

Free Zones Authority of Ajman

Asma Ahmed Hassan

Head of Infrastructure & Information Security

Ministry of Culture

Vishnu Padmakumar

Head of Digital Security

General Pension & Social
Security Authority

Dr Aleksandar Valjarevic

Acting CEO

Help AG

Nikola Kukoljac

Vice President - Solution Architecture

Help AG

Jacob Chacko

Vice President – Information Security

EtihadWE

Benjamin Zhai

Chief Executive Officer

Robo.ai

Mansoor Khan

Chief Technology Officer

Neurovia AI

Agenda

09 June 2026 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

08:30

REGISTRATION & NETWORKING

08:50

WELCOME REMARKS BY CONFERENCE CHAIRPERSON

08:55

OPENING VIDEO

09:00

OPENING KEYNOTE | NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY STRATEGY 2026: SAFEGUARDING THE UAE’S DIGITAL FUTURE

Speaker

09:15

TECHNOLOGY SESSION 1 | AI, SOVEREIGNTY & TRUST: SECURING THE UAE'S NEXT DIGITAL ERA

Speaker

09:30

VISIONARIES’ PANEL DISCUSSION | BUILDING A SKILLED NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE FOR THE FUTURE

Strategies to align academic programs, certifications, and hands-on training with the fastevolving needs of national cybersecurity
Preparing the workforce for AI-driven threats, quantum computing risks, and nextgeneration cyber defence technologies.
Building partnerships between government, private sector, and academia to develop a sustainable talent pipeline and retain top cybersecurity professionals.

Moderator

Speakers

H.E. Najyb Al Maskari, Executive Director - Government Cybersecurity Operations, Abu Dhabi DGE
H.E. Dr. Omar Al Shaiba, Executive Director, Digital Transformation, Data, & AI Sector, Department of Municipality and Transport
H.E. Eng. Mohammad Al-Samadi, President, National Cybersecurity Centre - Jordan
Dr. Ebrahim Al Alkeem, Director - National Risk & Policies, Department General Secretariat NAMLCFTC
Fayez Ibbini, Co-Founder & CEO, Alpha Data
Emad Haffar, Head of Security Consultant Team – META, Kaspersky

10:10

KEYNOTE ADDRESS | STRENGTHENING GLOBAL CYBER RESILIENCE THROUGH BILATERAL COOPERATION: THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC & UAE PARTNERSHIP IN ADVANCING NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY

Speaker

10:25

TECHNOLOGY SESSION 2 | Trusted AI Starts with Trusted Content

The session focuses on how government and critical infrastructure organizations can apply Zero Trust principles to files and content entering AI ecosystems, using layered defenses including multiscanning, behavioral analysis, and Content Disarm & Reconstruction (CDR). Real-world use cases — from citizen upload portals and inter-agency collaboration to AI-assisted workflows — demonstrate how securing content at the point of ingestion enables safer, more resilient AI adoption.

Speaker

10:40

TECHNOLOGY SESSION 3 | THE QUANTUM-SAFE BLUEPRINT: PREPARING GOVERNMENT FOR THE POST-QUANTUM ERA

Speaker

10:55

LEADERSHIP PANEL DISCUSSION | BUILDING A RESILIENT CYBERSECURITY GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK IN A HYPERCONNECTED WORLD

How can UAE organizations align cybersecurity governance with national strategies and international standards to ensure accountability and resilience?
Balancing innovation, cloud adoption, and IoT expansion while mitigating vulnerabilities across government and critical infrastructure.
Building stronger partnerships between regulators, technology providers, and enterprises to create a unified defence framework against evolving cyber threats.

Moderator

Speakers

Hessa Issa Mohammed Taher, Chief Information Security Officer, Abu Dhabi Customs
Dr. Abdalla Al Hammadi, Chief Innovation Officer & Director of Strategy and Future, Department Ministry of Justice UAE
Nabeel Amjad, Chief Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Officer, PureCS
Jacob Chako, Vice President – Information Security, EtihadWE
Nikola Kukoljac, Vice President - Solution Architecture, Help AG

11:35

TECHNOLOGY SESSION 4 | NAVIGATING PQC MIGRATION, AI VULNERABILITIES, AND ZERO TRUST: LESSONS FOR THE POST-QUANTUM ERA

Speaker

11:50

TECHNOLOGY SESSION 5 | THE NETWORK HAS BEEN WATCHING... NOW IT'S READY TO ACT

Speaker

12:05

VIP TOUR & NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK

12:25

EXECUTIVE PANEL DISCUSSION | DEFENDING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FROM SOPHISTICATED CYBER THREATS

Analysing the latest cyberattack trends targeting critical infrastructure and assessing vulnerabilities in energy, transport, and utilities sectors.
Implementing proactive measures, AI-driven threat detection, and real-time monitoring to prevent, detect, and respond to attacks.
Enhancing public-private partnerships and information sharing to strengthen national cyber defence frameworks.

Moderator

Speaker

Salim Mohamed Alshaami, Director - Government Relations and Digital Transformation Sharjah Research Technology & Innovation Park
Marzouq Alnuaimi, VP – Information & Cybersecurity, Velora Aviation
Mohamed Almaleki, Head of Information Security Office, Federal Tax Authority
Fayid Kadambodan, Assistant Director - Enterprise Solutions, Dubai Integrated Economic Zones
Biju Hameed Kayal, Director - Business Technology Infrastructure Operations, Dubai Airports

13:05

TECHNOLOGY SESSION 6 | THE 2026 CYBERSECURITY THREAT HORIZON: WHAT’S COMING FOR THE ENTERPRISE

Speaker

13:20

TECHNOLOGY SESSION 7 | UNLOAD DATA BURDEN, UNLOCK AI POTENTIAL: BUILDING RESILIENT AI INFRASTRUCTURE IN UAE

13:35

MULTI-SECTOR PANEL | CYBERSECURITY IN SMART CITIES & CLOUD-POWERED GOVERNMENT SERVICES

Strategies for securing IoT, sensors, and critical systems in smart cities against cyber threats.
Ensuring government services hosted on cloud platforms meet data privacy, regulatory, and resilience standards.
Leveraging partnerships between public, private, and tech sectors to strengthen cybersecurity frameworks.

Moderator

Speakers

Asma Ahmed Hassan, Head of Infrastructure & Information Security, Ministry of Culture
Vijay Velayutham Principal Information Security Officer Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure
Vishnu Padmakumar Head of Digital Security General Pension & Social Security Authority
Hessa Al Matrooshi, Team Lead – Information Security (formerly titled “Director”), Free Zones Authority of Ajman
Keirn Lee, Partner, Oliver Wyman
Sharef Hlal, Regional Head - Business Growth & Customer Operations (CI, META), Group IB

14:10

KEYNOTE ADDRESS | CYBERSECURITY 4.0: SECURING THE AGE OF AGENTIC AI

Speaker

14:25

KEYNOTE ADDRESS | SECURING THE FUTURE OF FINANCE: COLLABORATIVE CYBER DEFENSE ACROSS THE UAE BANKING SECTOR

Speaker

14:40

CLOSING REMARKS BY CHAIRPERSON

14:50

NETWORKING LUNCHEON & END OF SUMMIT

Who Will Attend

Government Cybersecurity Regulators & Councils
CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, IT Security Directors
Defence, Energy, Finance & Transport Authorities
AI, Cloud & Emerging Tech Leaders
Global Cybersecurity Vendors & Startups
Data Protection & Risk Management Leaders