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Rabat – Moroccan teams have taken the top three spots at the Standoff International Cyberbattle organized by Russian cybersecurity firm Positive Technologies.
The event, held as part of the Regional Cybersecurity Week in Rabat from September 15 to 19, brought together 38 specialists from the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Participants were tasked with simulating offensive and defensive operations against digital infrastructures modeled on the critical systems of a modern state.
Morocco’s strong showing
Morocco was represented by five teams of four participants each, drawn from the General Directorate for Information Systems Security (DGSSI) – the national authority overseeing Morocco’s cybersecurity strategy – and leading universities.
The Moroccan squads dominated the competition, securing first, second, and third place thanks to their ability to detect and neutralize cyber threats in real time.
Ilya Leonov, Regional Director of Positive Technologies for the Middle East and North Africa, commended Morocco’s performance, noting the “professionalism and potential” of its cybersecurity experts.
He also noted the value of hands-on exercises in preparing specialists to defend critical sectors such as energy, transport, and finance.
A growing global platform
Positive Technologies has organized Standoff since 2016, with the first international edition held in Abu Dhabi in 2019 during the HITB+CyberWeek forum.
Over the years, the contest has become one of the world’s leading cybersecurity battlegrounds, recreating production chains, business processes, and technology systems from various industries to test real-world capabilities.
The company also hosts the Positive Hack Days festival in Moscow, the world’s largest event dedicated to cybersecurity. Its 2025 edition attracted more than 150,000 in-person participants and 180,000 online viewers, with delegations from over 40 countries across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Alexey Andreev, Russia’s Trade Representative in Morocco, pointed to the potential for deeper cooperation between the two countries in the digital security field.
He pointed to Russia’s experience in resilience and stressed the importance of comprehensive partnerships that include solution localization, joint development, and knowledge transfer, crucial elements for nations seeking digital sovereignty.
Regional context
The cyberbattle in Rabat was held under the theme “Digital Sovereignty for Sustainable Economic Development”.
The broader Regional Cybersecurity Week gathered representatives from the DGSSI, the Regional Cybersecurity Center (RCC), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the OIC-CERT, and the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST).
The strong performance of Moroccan teams reinforced the country’s ambitions to position itself as a leader in cybersecurity across Africa and the wider region.
