Black Hat MEA 2026 · Riyadh
Security buyers at Black Hat MEA want to see a product stop an attack. Lazulite builds and runs stands that show it: a live SOC wall, an attack path on a Tangible Table or an OT plant in miniature. Our engineers have worked all four editions since 2022. The 2026 show runs from 1 to 3 December at Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center, Malham.
Show facts
Black Hat MEA is an annual cybersecurity conference and exhibition in Riyadh, co-organised by Tahaluf and SAFCSP with the global Black Hat team.
Show details checked: 2 November 2026
Black Hat MEA puts security research, open-source tools and a vendor exhibition into three days. Experts present original research and expose vulnerabilities in the Briefings, which fill four of the show's six conference rooms. Developers show their tools in Arsenal, and senior leaders meet at the Executive Summit.
Black Hat MEA exhibitors build in the Business Hall, near the Activity Zone where hands-on contests run. Free Expo passes also reach Black Hat Campus and four stages, among them DeepDive and Black Hat HER. For 2026 the organiser adds 48 Startup Pods and 20 Scaleup Kiosks, with CyberSeed pitch eligibility. Kingdom of Gaming, a new Tahaluf show, shares Malham on the same three days.
More than 40,000 attendees from over 130 countries came to Black Hat MEA 2025, the organiser reports. Its exhibit page names global banks, cloud providers, ministries and energy firms as buyers, while ethical hackers and students arrive on free passes. Plan an open bench for practitioners and a closed CISO room.
Black Hat MEA 2026 runs from Tuesday 1 December to Thursday 3 December, and the organiser has not yet set 2027 dates. Visitor hours for each pass type follow nearer the show, the FAQ says. In 2025, paid courses such as SOC-200 and Pentesting with Kali ran the week before.
Black Hat MEA 2026 takes place in Malham, at Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center, the venue LEAP also uses. Drivers follow Al Qassim Road to the Falcon Gate, the FAQ says, and King Khalid International is the nearest airport.
A modular Black Hat MEA stand needs three to five weeks before build-up at Malham, so call +971 50 173 8408 now to make December. The organiser's exhibitor manual holds every other cut-off and is not public, so forward your copy on booking.
Planning timeline
10 weeks out
Custom island brief, OT model or SOC wall scoped
7 weeks out
Final custom brief; attack scenarios agreed with your security team
5 weeks out
Modular stand with a Tangible Table and custom graphics
3 weeks out
Last modular brief; road freight and Saudi customs booked
Build-up days before 1 December
Replays loaded and run offline at Malham
A Black Hat MEA stand crosses into Saudi Arabia by road, so Lazulite builds customs paperwork into the plan from day one. Custom stands are fabricated in Dubai around your demo hardware, and modular systems from stock suit a late brief for the Business Hall.
Black Hat MEA 2024 ran eight hacking villages for cars, ATMs and smart homes. Lazulite brings that hands-on style to stands: a Miniature Model traces an OT attack path while a Dynamic LED Wall replays the SOC response.
CTF sign-ups bring a Black Hat MEA stand leads with full details, because every player enters a name and company to compete. Badge and QR scans and check-in kiosks add the rest, each marked Expo, Student or CISO.
After each day of Black Hat MEA, 1 to 3 December, the engineers who built your stand reset every demo environment. They carry a spare for every screen and kiosk.
On a Black Hat MEA stand, a Dynamic LED Wall set up as a SOC console replays a simulated breach each hour. Your blue team analyst narrates SIEM detection, triage and containment beside a threat intelligence feed, timed to the gaps in the Briefings agenda.
Black Hat MEA visitors place MFA, EDR or zero trust tokens on a Tangible Table to block a red team's route to a crown-jewel server. Each token names the Essential Cybersecurity Controls domain it meets, the NCA framework for Saudi critical national infrastructure.
For Black Hat MEA's energy buyers, a Miniature Model of a desalination plant lights up as an attack reaches the control network. Each defence your product adds is labelled against the NCA's OTCC-1:2022 controls.
Black Hat MEA's CTF earned a Guinness World Records title at the last edition, and the 2026 finals bring its top 150 teams to Riyadh. A 90-second flag challenge on Interactive Kiosks resets its board each morning, and the day's top scorer wins a prize.
Black Hat MEA's 2026 floor plan is open, and the organiser's exhibitor manual sets how space-only drawings are approved. Lazulite draws to the Malham hall plan and marks every CISO room wall and network drop for the reviewers.
Most international visitors to Black Hat MEA need a Saudi visa, the FAQ says. Stand staff should start Saudi eVisa applications as soon as the space is booked. Crew passes are issued through the organiser's contractor registration, and Lazulite enters every crew member in it.
Overhead LED walls at Malham hang from rigging points, so Black Hat MEA rigging goes on the service order with power and internet. Lazulite prepares those requirements and submits each order on your behalf, through the channel the exhibitor manual names.
The Black Hat MEA brief starts from who you need to reach: CISO-pass buyers need a closed room, Expo-pass practitioners a test bench.
Your security team signs off the 3D views and any screen content first, then the drawing set goes to the Black Hat MEA organiser.
Every attack scenario runs on the finished Black Hat MEA hardware in Lazulite's Dubai workshop, offline first and then over a wired line.
Your analysts run each replay on the finished Black Hat MEA stand before the 1 December opening, with our crew beside them to 3 December.
On 3 December Lazulite wipes every demo environment and test credential before the Black Hat MEA stand comes down, then sends the lead file.
Black Hat MEA runs three days, so day rates for screens and engineers count three times, against four or five at many shows. Per square metre, a modular build typically runs AED 1,000 to 2,000 and a custom build AED 1,500 to 3,500. Attack scenario content and closed CISO rooms add to that.
The organiser publishes no Black Hat MEA space rates, so start with the Book your stand enquiry on blackhatmea.com and budget its invoice separately. Lazulite's quote covers the build, technology, content and crew. We prepare your power, rigging and internet orders and submit them for you through the exhibitor manual, with each venue charge itemised.
Reuse saves most on a Black Hat MEA budget: a modular frame built for December can return to Malham for LEAP in April 2027. Indoor LED video walls typically hire for AED 300 to 650 a square metre daily. Road freight, crew travel and hotels usually put a Riyadh quote in the top half of each band, and Saudi VAT is 15%.
Budget bands
Compact
AED 30,000 to 70,000 is typical for a 12 square metre inline stand
Standard
AED 80,000 to 200,000 is typical for about 36 square metres
Flagship
AED 300,000 to 650,000 is typical for a 100 square metre island
Ranges checked: November 2026
Pricing note: These ranges are indicative, for planning only. Your final quote depends on your requirements, stand size, show duration and the resources your stand needs. They exclude organiser space, venue charges for power, rigging and internet, and VAT.
Rent vs custom
Rent
Stock screens and kiosks for a brief three to five weeks out
Custom build
A stand built around your attack scenario
Lazulite has built at both Black Hat MEA venues: Riyadh Front for the 2022 and 2023 editions, and Malham since 2024. The 2022 launch drew more than 30,000 attendees and 182 exhibitors, the organiser said.
A vulnerability disclosed in a day-one Briefings talk can reach your attack replay by day two, as Lazulite owns its 40+ products and their software.
At a show built around hacking villages and a CTF, Lazulite keeps attack replays on local hardware or a dedicated wired line. Any guest Wi-Fi on the stand runs apart from them. A dropped venue connection leaves the replay running.
Trusted by
Dubai's cybersecurity show, hosted by the UAE Cyber Security Council, at Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City, from 4 to 6 May 2027.
Technology in Riyadh, at the same Malham venue, from 12 to 15 April 2027.
Technology in Dubai, with the Expo at Expo City from 8 to 11 December 2026, the week after Black Hat MEA.
Can't find your answer? Speak with our Dubai team.
No. Black Hat MEA ran at Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Center in 2022 and 2023. It moved to Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center in Malham in 2024, when its floor space grew 51%. The 2026 edition runs there on 1 to 3 December, so book freight and hotels for Malham.
Let's build it together
Decide which attack your Black Hat MEA stand should stop, then send it with your stand number and floor plan. Our Dubai team sends a first concept with a cost range, and a fixed quote follows design approval. A modular build still needs three to five weeks before build-up, so phone +971 50 173 8408 this week.
Let's Discuss Your Project
