GISEC Global 2026: dates, venue and what to expect in Dubai

GISEC 2026 brings the largest cybersecurity event in the Middle East, North Africa and Southwest Asia back to Dubai for its 15th edition. If you work in security in the UAE, this is the room to be in. Here is a clear guide to GISEC 2026: the dates, the venue and what to expect, written by a team that has exhibited on the floor, plus where to find Rootsec.

The basics

What is GISEC Global?

GISEC Global (the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference) is the leading cybersecurity exhibition and conference in the region. It brings together government bodies, critical-infrastructure operators, enterprises, vendors, startups and ethical hackers under one roof for three days in Dubai. For the UAE and the wider GCC, it is the anchor event of the security calendar: where strategies are set, partnerships are formed and the year’s threats and defenses are debated on stage.

The 2026 edition is the 15th, a milestone that reflects how central cybersecurity has become to the UAE’s national agenda. With the country investing heavily in artificial intelligence and digital government, the security conversation at GISEC has moved from a niche IT concern to a boardroom and national-priority topic.

When and where

Dates, venue and getting there

GISEC 2026 runs from 16 to 18 September 2026 at the Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) in Expo City Dubai. Expo City is well connected by metro and road, and the DEC is a modern, purpose-built venue that took over as the host site for the show’s larger recent editions. Because event dates can shift, always confirm the current schedule and registration details on the official GISEC website before you plan your visit.

Why go

Who should attend, and why it matters

GISEC is built for the people who carry security responsibility: CISOs and security officers, IT and risk leaders, government and critical-infrastructure teams, and the vendors and service providers who support them. If you are a UAE organization weighing your defenses, three days at GISEC compress a year of market scanning into one visit.

What you get out of it: a live read on the threats shaping the region, hands-on contact with the tools and teams behind them, and the informal conversations that turn into real engagements. For buyers, it is the fastest way to separate substance from noise. For security firms, it is where credibility in this market is built.

On the agenda

What to expect at GISEC 2026

Expect the show floor to be dominated by the themes defining the year: AI in both attack and defense, the security of critical national infrastructure, cloud and identity, operational technology, and the fast-growing market for managed detection and response. The conference stages typically run parallel tracks for strategy, technical deep-dives and government policy.

The through-line in 2026 is artificial intelligence. As AI-driven attack tools mature, the questions on stage move from “can AI hack?” to “how do we defend when the attacker is backed by a machine, and how do we use AI safely on our own side?” That is exactly the conversation the region’s security teams need to have.

Meet us there

Rootsec at GISEC

We know GISEC from the show floor, not the brochure. Rootsec exhibited at GISEC 2025 at stand B10, under our #ROOTSEC banner: “Cybersecurity without compromise.” Three days of live red team versus blue team demos, sharp questions from UAE security teams, and the kind of face-to-face conversations that turn into real engagements. It is a big part of why we based ourselves in Dubai.

Rootsec is a cybersecurity firm based in Dubai (Business Bay), specialized in penetration testing, red teaming and managed security. We run AI-driven offensive security on our own local platform, so client data stays in, and we bring that same practitioner view to every edition of the show. If you want to talk about what a modern, AI-aware pentest looks like for your organization, the show floor is a good place to start.

Curious about the AI angle before the show? Read our analysis, The Rise of the AI Pentester, on what the research really says about autonomous AI in security. And see our GISEC campaign page for how to reach us during the event.

FAQ

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