Dubai Police have rolled out a major campaign for Cybersecurity Awareness Month this October, highlighted by a “Capture the Flag” (CTF) competition with a prize pool of Dh223,000, Khaleej Times reported.
The Electronic Crimes Department explained that the contest will be split into three categories. School students will compete for Dh40,000, university students for Dh78,000, and professionals for Dh95,000, with prizes distributed among the top winners.
“The goal is to identify talented individuals in penetration testing who could potentially contribute to security agencies in the future,” officials from the department said.
Online qualifiers will be held from October 5 until the end of the month, while the final round is scheduled at the Officers’ Club on October 25 and 26. Registration officially opened on October 1.
Aside from the competition, Dubai Police are also organizing dialogue sessions, forums, and awareness events targeting students, companies, and specialists. Businesses will be able to showcase innovative cybersecurity solutions during these sessions.
A key part of the campaign is the launch of ecrimehub, a new digital platform offering guidance on electronic crimes and fraud prevention. The site features an AI-powered assistant to handle cybersecurity-related questions and an image analysis tool designed to detect possible scams.
The platform will also engage the public through interactive weekly quizzes, with participants who answer correctly entered into a prize draw on October 30.
Meanwhile, the Protection Centre—usually focused on drug awareness, bullying, and health education in schools—will dedicate the month to cybersecurity topics. Police added that fraud reports filed through the platform prompt immediate investigations, including the shutdown of scam-related phone numbers and email addresses.
