SANS Gulf Region 2025 aims to bridge the regional cyber skills gap amid rapid AI and digital transformation.
As the Gulf region accelerates its journey toward a digital-first future, the cybersecurity skills gap continues to widen. In response, the SANS Institute, the world’s leading provider of cybersecurity training and certifications, has announced SANS Gulf Region 2025, the region’s largest cyber upskilling event. The training program will be held from November 8–27, 2025, at the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Beach Resort, offering 14 advanced, hands-on courses designed to prepare professionals for the next generation of threats.
The event comes at a time when the UAE is emerging as a global AI powerhouse, guided by its National AI Strategy 2031 and massive investments in data infrastructure. However, as AI adoption expands, cyber risk grows exponentially—from AI-driven phishing and misinformation campaigns to sophisticated attacks on critical infrastructure.
“With the speed at which the region is accelerating in digital transformation, a skilled workforce is a critical need.”
— Ned Baltagi, Managing Director – Middle East, Turkey and Africa, SANS Institute
Baltagi emphasized that continuous, hands-on training is essential for both public and private sector organizations to protect people, data, and systems. The 2025 edition will cover domains such as Incident Response, GenAI and LLM Security, Cloud and Network Security, ICS Protection, and Zero Trust Architecture—each led by SANS-certified instructors through simulations, case studies, and interactive labs.
Adding a competitive, real-world edge, the event will host two NetWars tournaments, challenging participants to solve simulated attack and defense scenarios. These gamified sessions help professionals translate learning into action, sharpening their detection and response capabilities.
Beyond skills, SANS Gulf Region 2025 aims to build regional resilience. With the GCC’s rapid smart city and cloud expansion, the demand for globally recognized GIAC-certified experts is at an all-time high.
By bringing world-class expertise to Dubai, SANS reinforces the region’s ambition to be not only an AI innovation hub—but also a cyber-secure digital economy.
