Moscow, Russia – Under the bright Moscow sunlight, the iconic Luzhniki Stadium, a crucible of sporting glory from the 1980 Summer Olympics to the 2018 Fifa World Cup final, recently shed its sporting guise to host an unexpected gathering: a high-profile international cybersecurity festival.
For three days last month (May 22-24), the venerable arena, typically echoing with the roar of crowds, transformed into a bustling exhibition centre. Thousands of tech experts and enthusiasts descended upon the venue, all seeking a glimpse into the latest advancements in the relentless war against cyberattacks.
The irony of the setting was not lost on football aficionados. It was at this very stadium that video referral technology made its indelible mark on a Fifa World Cup, controversially awarding France a penalty in their 4-2 victory over Croatia in the final – a decision born of a VAR consultation by Argentinian referee Nestor Pitana. While technology has largely served to neutralise human error in the sporting realm, its malicious flipside can cripple human life when hostile actors penetrate vital computer systems.
It is against this chilling backdrop that Positive Hack Days (PHD), the cybersecurity festival hosted by Positive Technologies, emerges as a critical platform for forging a secure digital future. This year’s event, backed by the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia, drew an impressive array of prominent government officials, cybersecurity gurus, and ethical hackers from across Asia, South America, Africa, and the Middle East. Their collective mission: to share knowledge and craft robust countermeasures against the ever-evolving threats posed by cybercriminals.
Ali Azzam, the Egypt-based Vice President of Mideast Communication Systems, underscored the paramount importance of such gatherings in the current global environment. “As the official distributor of Positive Technologies in the Middle East and Africa, we are thrilled to be attending Positive Hack Days Fest. This is our second time participating in this event, and it provides a fantastic opportunity to connect with cybersecurity experts from around the world,” Azzam remarked.
He added, “Positive Technologies offers a range of unique cybersecurity solutions and has significant strengths and key advantages in various sectors. We believe it is essential for us to encourage Egyptians to attend this festival, as they can gain valuable insights that can be applied to the Middle Eastern industries.”
The 2025 edition of Positive Hack Days proved to be its largest since its inception in 2011, attracting over 150,000 visitors and a further 180,000 online viewers. Among the distinguished attendees was Tushar Dinesh Vartak, Chief Information Security Officer of the UAE’s RAKBank, alongside hundreds of professionals from corporate houses worldwide.
“Today’s cybersecurity leaders must speak the language of top management and understand business processes to implement proactive, business-aligned security strategies,” Vartak stressed, highlighting the shift towards a more integrated approach to digital defence.
Vikneswaran Rajagopalan, a Dubai-based cybersecurity professional, shed light on the compelling reasons for his presence in Moscow. “Two years ago we started focusing more on OT (Operational Technology). We have a protected system, but attacks are still happening. So that’s why it’s one of the reasons for us to be here at this festival to look at the new inventions and learn about the new roadmaps and how we can adapt all that to our system for better security,” Rajagopalan explained during a media roundtable at Luzhniki Stadium on the festival’s opening day.
He further elaborated on Moscow’s unique appeal: “We are well aware of this annual event for a long time. It’s one of the biggest hackathon events in the world. It’s very important for us to be here and understand how the technology grows. And Russia is well-known for ethical hackers. So we are here to understand the new solutions so we can serve the customers even better and prevent the attacks.”
The festival also delved into the burgeoning threat of AI-driven fraud and the urgent need for regulatory reforms to bolster business strategies in the face of these sophisticated new challenges. “Today if you look at it, AI is the buzzword, everything revolves around AI. If I look at Positive Technologies, and I have been working with them for quite a long time, their research team is using the technology properly and it is giving very good results,” noted Rajagopalan.
Despite fierce competition in the cut-throat world of business, a unifying imperative binds these professionals: the pursuit of a secure digital future. As Yury Maksimov, co-founder of Cyberus, aptly put it: “The solution lies in jointly building a new digital architecture where collaboration becomes a strategic advantage, not dependency.” In the shadowy realm of cyber warfare, it seems, even rivals must find common ground.
