Digitalization is raising the cost of mistakes.
As Kazakhstan accelerates the adoption of artificial intelligence and moves more government and business processes online, protecting data, infrastructure and information systems is becoming increasingly critical, DKNews.kz reports.
That challenge will be in focus at KazHackStan 2026, which will take place in Astana on September 29–30 as part of AI Month. The month-long technology and artificial intelligence program will run from September 23 to October 23 during Kazakhstan’s Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared 2026 the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence. Against this backdrop, Astana’s autumn technology agenda will bring together several closely connected areas — AI development, cybersecurity, investment and international cooperation.
KazHackStan expects more than 10,000 participants
KazHackStan 2026 will be held at the Palace of Independence in Astana on September 29–30.
Organizers expect more than 10,000 visitors, around 200 companies, 100 regional and international speakers, and at least 25 hacker teams from Central Asian countries.
The scale of the conference reflects how far cybersecurity has moved beyond the boundaries of corporate IT departments.
For businesses, a cyberattack can disrupt operations, expose sensitive information, cause financial losses and damage a company’s reputation. For governments, vulnerabilities in digital systems can affect the resilience of public services and critical infrastructure.
As AI infrastructure expands, so does the potential attack surface. More digital platforms mean more systems, applications, connected devices and data that need to be protected.
Among the announced speakers are American hacker Jason E. Street, author of the Dissecting the Hack book series and a global ambassador for DEF CON Groups; cybersecurity expert Alexey Lukatsky, who has more than 30 years of industry experience; senior developer Maxim Romanyuk; and other specialists.
Hackers will demonstrate how vulnerabilities are discovered
The KazHackStan program is divided into two main tracks.
Government & Business Day will focus on public policy, regulation, national cybersecurity, digital transformation and technological independence.
The second track, Secure Development and Hack Day, will move from strategy to practical security challenges.
Its agenda includes secure software development, AppSec and DevSecOps, OSINT, digital forensics, malware analysis, hardware security and IoT protection.
Participants will also be able to see processes that usually remain inside the professional cybersecurity community: how hackers identify vulnerabilities, how systems are breached, and how security specialists detect and attempt to stop attacks.
This is becoming increasingly relevant for companies adopting AI tools. The more systems gain access to corporate data and automated business processes, the more costly a single exploited vulnerability can become.
From cybersecurity to AI & Digital Bridge
The technology agenda will continue on October 1 with AI & Digital Bridge 2026, one of Kazakhstan’s flagship international technology forums.
The event will run in Astana from October 1 to October 3, bringing together global technology companies, entrepreneurs, investors, researchers and government representatives.
October 1 will feature a high-level program involving senior government officials, international delegations and technology industry leaders. Participation in the events scheduled for that day will be by special invitation.
On October 2 and 3, the forum will open its broader program to ticket holders, with international speakers, startups, investors and representatives of global technology companies gathering on one platform.
The format connects cybersecurity with a much broader technology agenda. The focus is no longer limited to building new AI products, but also includes how those systems can be protected, scaled and integrated into the economy.
AI Month begins with building new solutions
AI Month will run from September 23 to October 23.
Its program is designed to cover the full technology cycle — from developing new products to protecting and scaling them.
On September 23, Astana will host HackAlem AI. Participants are expected to receive access to OpenAI technology resources worth up to $1 million.
Winners will also receive $100,000 in API tokens, while the event will offer an additional $100,000 cash prize pool. The total value of technology resources and prizes has been announced at $1.1 million.
The winners are expected to be recognized on the AI & Digital Bridge 2026 stage.
The sequence of events creates a clear technology pipeline: teams first develop AI products, cybersecurity professionals then examine how such systems can be protected, and businesses, government institutions and investors later discuss how technologies can be deployed and scaled.
For Kazakhstan, this marks a shift from treating artificial intelligence as a standalone technology topic toward a broader infrastructure agenda that also involves computing capacity, talent, regulation, data protection and cybersecurity.
The forum will be financed without state budget funding
AI & Digital Bridge 2026 is organized by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, Astana Hub and the Astana city administration.
According to the organizers, all costs related to the forum will be covered through sponsorship funding.
Freedom Bank and Kaspi.kz are listed as Gold Partners, BI Group as Digital Partner, and Air Astana as Official Airline Partner.
The forum is expected to be held without the use of state budget funds.
Within this broader technology agenda, cybersecurity is becoming one of the key conditions for sustainable digital growth. If AI Month demonstrates how quickly Kazakhstan’s technology ecosystem is expanding, KazHackStan will highlight the other side of that expansion: every new digital service, connected platform and AI-powered system creates additional infrastructure that must also be secured.
