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Employees are being challenged to think like cybercriminals, investigate simulated security breaches and identify digital threats as Exploit3rs Cybersecurity Academy introduces a series of hands-on cybersecurity experiences at Dubai Municipality’s Cybersecurity Week, taking place from 27 to 29 October 2026.
The initiative brings practical cyberattack simulations into the workplace awareness environment, allowing participants to experience how cybercriminals exploit security weaknesses, manipulate users and carry out digital fraud. The programme aims to strengthen employees’ ability to recognise potential threats and respond effectively to cybersecurity incidents.
Held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Creek, the event features three interactive training formats developed by the Dubai-based academy: a
Cyber Escape Room, touchscreen-based Cyber Missions and a live-hacking workshop demonstrating how common workplace vulnerabilities can expose individuals and organisations to cyber risks.
Designed for employees regardless of their technical backgrounds, the experiences move beyond conventional awareness presentations by placing participants inside realistic cybersecurity scenarios where their decisions determine how simulated attacks unfold.
Cyber Escape Room Turns Digital Threats into a 20-Minute Investigation
At the centre of Exploit3rs’ participation is a Cyber Escape Room that transforms cybersecurity awareness into a timed investigation.
Participants work in small teams inside a specially designed environment that recreates a cybercrime scenario. With approximately 20 minutes to complete the challenge, teams must decrypt passwords, identify phishing emails, locate confidential files and analyse digital evidence to uncover the identity of a simulated attacker.
Successfully completing the investigation allows participants to unlock the exit before the countdown reaches zero.
Each task reflects a cybersecurity risk or investigative technique encountered in real-world incidents, with Exploit3rs specialists guiding participants throughout the exercise.
A live countdown displayed outside the room enables other attendees to follow the teams’ progress, adding a collaborative and competitive dimension to the training experience.
Interactive Missions Put Employees in the Cyberattacker’s Position
A second component, Cyber Missions, takes a different approach to cybersecurity education by allowing employees to experience digital threats from both the attacker’s and the potential victim’s perspectives.
Delivered through interactive touchscreen kiosks, the missions take approximately three to four minutes each and begin by placing participants in the role of a cybercriminal.
Participants explore how fraudulent schemes are designed and executed before the scenario shifts, placing them in the position of an employee encountering a similar threat during routine workplace activities.
By experiencing both sides of an attempted attack, participants can better understand the techniques used to manipulate victims, identify warning signs and recognise the potential consequences of interacting with malicious emails, links or fraudulent requests.
The five missions address account compromise, password security, risks associated with USB devices, email phishing and the verification of requests to change payment details.
All experiences are available in Arabic and English. The missions do not assign participant scores or collect and retain personal information.
Alshamsi: Cybersecurity Awareness Must Go Beyond Recognising Suspicious Emails
Juma Alshamsi, Founder and CEO of Exploit3rs Cybersecurity Academy, said traditional cybersecurity awareness programmes often focus on whether employees can recognise suspicious activity, without adequately testing how they respond when confronted with realistic threats.
“Most cybersecurity awareness programmes show employees a suspicious email and ask whether they would have recognised it. The answer is often yes. Through our participation in Dubai Municipality’s Cybersecurity Week, we are taking a more practical approach by giving employees the opportunity to construct simulated phishing scenarios themselves before encountering similar threats in realistic workplace situations. This allows them to develop a deeper understanding of cyber risks and assess their actual ability to identify potential attacks,” Alshamsi said.
He added that the academy is working to make experiential cybersecurity training more accessible to organisations across the UAE, enabling employees to understand cybercriminal techniques in controlled training environments before encountering similar threats in real-world situations.
Live Demonstrations Expose Risks Behind Everyday Digital Activities
The programme also includes a cybersecurity awareness workshop titled “Who’s Watching?”, scheduled for 28 October and aimed at employees without specialised technical knowledge.
Led by Fares Hassanin, Head of Cyber Range and Education at Exploit3rs Cybersecurity Academy, the workshop will feature two live demonstrations illustrating how attackers can exploit vulnerabilities in commonly used workplace technologies.
The first demonstration, “The Email Trap”, will examine how opening an apparently routine email attachment can potentially give an attacker access to a laptop’s webcam, exposing the user to unauthorised monitoring.
The second, “The Silent Break-In”, will demonstrate how a computer running an outdated version of Windows can be compromised without any action by its user.
The simulated attack will involve a vulnerability from the same family associated with the WannaCry ransomware outbreak, which disrupted computer systems worldwide in 2017.
Hassanin, who specialises in offensive cybersecurity and vulnerability discovery, will also outline seven practical cybersecurity habits intended to reduce exposure to common threats.
The workshop will conclude with guidance on the essential actions employees should take during the first five minutes after a suspected security breach, highlighting the importance of early detection and an appropriate initial response.
Beyond the Exploit3rs activities, Dubai Municipality’s Cybersecurity Week programme includes awareness sessions addressing workplace fraud,
social engineering, children’s digital safety and emerging cyber threats linked to artificial intelligence.
Academy Plans Wider Rollout Across Government and Private Sectors
Following its participation in Dubai Municipality’s Cybersecurity Week, Exploit3rs Cybersecurity Academy plans to expand access to its three interactive training formats across government entities and private-sector organisations in the UAE.
The proposed rollout will allow organisations to host Cyber Escape Rooms at their own premises, deploy interactive Cyber Missions kiosks and arrange cybersecurity awareness workshops delivered in Arabic and English.
The expansion forms part of the academy’s efforts to make practical cybersecurity education more accessible and help organisations strengthen employees’ preparedness against increasingly complex digital threats.
Based in Dubai, Exploit3rs Cybersecurity Academy specialises in hands-on cybersecurity training and awareness. According to the academy, it is licensed by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), and its activities are aligned with the requirements of the National Electronic Security Authority (NESA).
The academy reports having trained approximately 4,000 individuals, organised 23 specialised events and developed more than 300 practical cybersecurity laboratories.
It also operates Hacking Dungeon, its dedicated cybersecurity training platform, which provides practical environments for vulnerability discovery and simulated cyberattacks.
Exploit3rs has received several industry recognitions, including the Judges’ Choice Award at North Star Startups during GISEC Global 2025 and the Startup of the Year Award at the CyberAI Summit and Awards 2025.