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The final will take place at ADIPEC on 4 November, followed by an awards ceremony on 5 November. The competition is hosted by ADNOC in partnership with the UAE Cyber Security Council under the CyberAware program, and delivered by Exploit3rs Cybersecurity Academy.
ABU DHABI, UAE — 1 November 2026 — Exploit3rs Cybersecurity Academy today announced that 23 finalists will compete in the ADNOC AI Hackathon final at ADIPEC 2026, held on 4 November at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi. Winners will be recognised at an awards ceremony on 5 November. More than 420 cybersecurity professionals from UAE government entities registered for the competition, which focuses on energy-sector security, AI-driven threats and critical infrastructure defence.
A Simulated Energy Network, Purpose-Built for Training
For the final, Exploit3rs has designed HELIOS, a fictional energy network created as a safe training environment. HELIOS operates in a fully isolated lab, is not connected to any operational systems, and is not based on any real-world infrastructure.
Finalists will have four hours to identify and exploit its built-in vulnerabilities. This exercise reflects the same skills cybersecurity defenders need to anticipate, detect and prevent real-world attacks on critical infrastructure.
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“Exploit3rs built a complete simulated energy infrastructure environment, intentionally vulnerable, with a single purpose: to give the UAE’s government cyber professionals a safe place to attack it. On 4 November at ADIPEC, the best of them will step inside, with the clock running. That is how you build defenders who understand exactly what they are protecting.” — Juma Alshamsi, Founder and CEO, Exploit3rs Cybersecurity Academy |
Four Hours, Solo, Then the ADIPEC Stage
The final is a four-hour individual contest. Each finalist competes alone, with a live scoreboard tracking progress throughout. The winners will be honoured on stage at the awards ceremony on 5 November, with prizes for the top three.
From More Than 420 Registrations to the Final
The competition focuses on energy-sector security, AI-driven threats and critical infrastructure defence.
Round one ran online from 12 to 15 October on Hacking Dungeon, the Exploit3rs training platform, and featured eight hands-on challenges.
Built End-to-End by Exploit3rs
Exploit3rs delivers the competition from registration to final, including the online qualifier, the hands-on challenges, the simulated energy infrastructure environment and the live scoreboard at ADNEC. All scenarios are purpose-built for training and are fully isolated from any operational systems.
ABOUT EXPLOIT3RS CYBERSECURITY ACADEMY
Exploit3rs Cybersecurity Academy is a Dubai-based, KHDA-licensed and NESA-aligned training company, supported by the UAE Cyber Security Council. It runs its own hacking platform, the Hacking Dungeon, engineers hands-on vulnerable labs, delivers large-scale cybersecurity events and provides penetration testing. It has trained 4,000 people, delivered 23 events and built more than 300 hands-on labs. In 2026 it delivers the ADNOC AI Hackathon at ADIPEC and delivered Dubai Municipality Cyber Week. Its awards include the Judges’ Choice Award at GISEC Global 2025 North Star Startups and Startup of the Year at the CyberAI Summit and Awards 2025.
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