The National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) invited cybersecurity subject matter experts on the national level for consultation on the draft version of the national cybersecurity strategy. Several meetings and workshops were held with high-level representatives from national agencies and experts from various representation of the government private and academic sectors; to ensure the engagement of experts in the decision-making process.Experts’ and representatives’ feedback collected on the draft version of the strategy included the development methodology, strategic context, national cybersecurity vision, strategic goals, the national operating model, action plan’s main tracks,The discussions included various topics with the aim of aligning national efforts to achieve Saudi Arabia’s 2030 vision digital transformation programs, and strengthening the kingdom’s cybersecurity posture. Topics included support mechanisms for small and medium cybersecurity enterprises, Information sharing platforms, means for supporting cybersecurity research and development programs, potential fields of cooperation and integration between the public and private sectors, partnerships with relevant agencies to develop cybersecurity training programs for professionals, university students and fresh-graduates. In addition to challenges and opportunities faced by stakeholders, and the support the strategy will provide to boost the cybersecurity industry in the kingdom.Currently, the NCA is developing the national cybersecurity strategy and will be overseeing the implementation as per its mandate. The strategy is developed using a comprehensive methodology, taking into consideration global and local cybersecurity risks while also leveraging national agencies and experts’ feedback. The strategy will establish a national reference framework and an exhaustive governance model in accordance with the best international practices, which fits the kingdom’s needs and expectations and will contribute to establishing an integrated national cybersecurity eco-system that enables national entities to elevate its cybersecurity posture and protect its infrastructure.

The National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) has organized a workshop on subjects related to cybersecurity, with the participation of a number of vital entities and companies from the transportation sector.The workshop discussed the most prominent cybersecurity challenges and threats, how to deal with and prevent them, raising the entities’ readiness level to be better prepared for such threats, and providing opportunities to improve performance of different entities and to leverage cybersecurity integration among them.The participants reviewed the national strategy for cybersecurity, cyber threats related to the Kingdom, and the training initiatives provided by the National Cybersecurity Academy, in addition to holding sessions on cybersecurity’s essential controls.This workshop falls within NCA’s efforts to strengthen the integration and partnership with all national and vital entities and sectors, in order to raise the level of awareness, readiness and information sharing to protect against cyber threats on a national level.

The Governor of the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA), His Excellency Dr. Khaled Bin Abdullah Alsabti, has expressed his congratulations to King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (May ALLAH protect them) on the success of the Hajj (Pilgrimage) season for this year 1440. Dr. Alsabti pointed that the continuous success the Kingdom is achieving in organizing, managing the Hajj season paying attention to all details is a clear proof of the respect and care our leaderships and citizens have for this great responsibility, which ALLAH has blessed this great country with; making it the destination for Muslims. Serving ALLAH’s guests is both an obligation and an honor as King Salman described it, and for this reason, the kingdom did not hesitate in anyway in insuring the comfort of ALLAH’s guests and their safety, as well as making their Hajj as smooth as possible, for this year and all years.Dr. Alsabti has also added that working as one team in providing services to pilgrims, and showing cooperation and unity from all participating departments and entities, has proved to be effective in facilitating the Hajj season and providing a safe and peaceful atmosphere. Dr. Alsabti pointed out to the great effort made by all participating entities including the National Cybersecurity Authority that provided support to all other entities which includes running a cyber operation room and conducting a tabletop exercise to leverage the cyber readiness of all entities during the Hajj season and their coordination.Dr. Alsabti has expressed his prayers for our country’s continuous safety, stability, and prosperity under the wise leadership of King Salman and his Crown Prince, as well as the safe return of all pilgrims to their countries.

On behalf of himself, Members of the NCA Board and all staff members of the NCA, His Excellency Dr. Mosaad Al Aiban, the Minister of State, member of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of the NCA Board, has expressed his congratulations to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Vice President of The Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense, -May Allah protect them- and to all Saudi citizens on the 89th Saudi National Day.His Excellency Dr. Al Aiban asks Allah for protection, lasting peace, continuous prosperity and stability to our leadership and homeland.

On behalf of himself and all staff members of the NCA, the governor of the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA), His Excellency Dr. Khaled Bin Abdullah Alsabti, has expressed his congratulations to The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (May ALLAH protect them), and to all Saudi citizens on the 89th Saudi National Day.“The National Day is a glorious occasion that fills our hearts with pride, we cherish what the Founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud –may he rest in peace—has accomplished; uniting our great country and people.” Dr. Alsabti said. “We are also proud of what we are witnessing in this prosperous era; all the components of development and construction represent a journey for success and growth that aims to achieve the 2030 Saudi vision. A vision that reflects our country’s long-term goals, and relies on its unique strengths and capabilities.”Dr. Alsabti has also applauded the great support the able leadership is providing to NCA in order to achieve its goals and objectives, and expressed his prayers to our leadership and homeland, asking ALLAH to protect our peace and stability, to grant our troops victory, and to guide us all to participate in keeping our homeland safe and prosperous.

The National Cybersecurity Academy, affiliated with the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA), has finished last week the fourth and final batch of the training courses of the first phase of CyberPro initiative, which aims to develop the skills of the national cybersecurity workforce and to qualify outstanding fresh University graduates from cybersecurity and related programs and encourage them to work in this field.The training was provided by world-class international training institutes and under the Academy’s direct supervision. 179 trainees, who work for national entities, have benefitted from the fourth batch of courses, which makes the total number of trainees in the first phase of this initiative 1039 male and female trainees. 751 of them are employees in 113 national entities, and 288 of them are fresh graduates from 23 Saudi universities and colleges. 15 courses for the foundational level have taken place during the first phase, as well as 10 courses for the intermediate level, and 12 courses for the advanced level.This week, the second phase of this initiative was launched; its target is 2000 students and employees. The second phase includes four levels: the foundation level, the beginner level, the intermediate level and the advance level. The foundation level courses offer extensive theoretical and practical training for two weeks on the following subjects: Introduction to Networks and Operation Systems, and Introduction to Cybersecurity.The beginner level courses offer training courses for two weeks on the following subjects: Cybersecurity Essentials for Operation Systems and Cybersecurity Essentials for networks. As for the intermediate level, the training courses last are two-week long and cover the following topics: Infrastructure Protection, Ethical Hacking, and Penetration Testing Essentials. Finally, the advance level training courses are for one week and cover advanced topics in one of the following areas: Incident Response, Monitoring and Detecting Vulnerabilities, Advanced Penetration Testing, Governance and Risks, Protection of Industrial Control Systems and Secure Programming.In this phase, the academy will invite fresh graduates from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Program for International Scholarships to apply for these courses, as well as graduates from local universities. The Academy will also coordinate with national entities to recruit CyberPro trainees in order to meet the national workforce need in cybersecurity through training courses aimed for employment and on-job training as well.The Academy’s target is to train 20,000 citizens who work in cybersecurity or ready to work in it before 2022. The goal of this is to create a strong base of qualified cadres, to help reach a secure, resilient and trusted Saudi cyberspace that enables growth and prosperity.This is one of many initiatives launched by the NCA to help address the shortage of the national workforce in this critical field, and to meet the needs of the labour market to protect the Saudi cyberspace. One other initiative was implemented earlier, when the NCA cooperated with the Ministry of Education to offer 540 scholarships for Saudi students to study cybersecurity in international outstanding universities through the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Program for Scholarships Abroad as part of an initiative to offer 2500 scholarships over five years .

The Kingdom’s National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) today announced it will be hosting the first-of-its-kind Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF), held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The two-day event will take place this February in Riyadh.The Forum will bring together a range of decision makers and experts from government, business, and academia, as well as investors and representatives of international organizations to address cyber opportunities, challenges, threats and risks. The discussions will aim to strengthen international collaboration, facilitate the launch of both national and international initiatives to create a secure and prosperous cyberworld as well as develop domestic capabilities in support of Vision 2030. The event reflects the rising importance of cybersecurity in today’s international business environment, as emphasized in HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s speech at this year’s G-20 Osaka Summit. The event will also coincide with Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the upcoming G-20 Summit in Riyadh, as well as major investment projects under Vision 2030.According to the Global Cybersecurity Index issued by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Saudi Arabia is ranked as the top Arab nation and 13th in the world for its commitment to cybersecurity. The Forum will highlight Saudi Arabia’s current and future initiatives that aim at creating a secure cyberspace that enables growth and prosperity. The forum will also leverage the local and global economic opportunities presented by rapid technological changes to establish a globe-leading cybersecurity industry.

In a joint effort between the NCA and the E-Commerce Council, NCA has issued two cybersecurity guidelines documents for sellers and consumers of e-commerce.This is within NCA’s functions and competencies in issuing cybersecurity controls, frameworks, and guidelines, and within the E-Commerce Council’s functions in raising the level of e-commerce trust and developing its role in the national economy in order to realize the goals of the 2030 Saudi vision.The document for sellers, including the owners of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Small Office / Home Office (SoHo) sellers, serves to protect their e-commerce data and devices. While the other document serves the consumers of e-commerce and insure a secure shopping experience that protects their devices, data, and personal information during online transactions.The release of these two documents goes hand in hand with the popularity of e-commerce, and its reliance on the information and communication technology. It also is in step with the emerging generation of cyber threats, which target both consumers and sellers via security breaches of the e-commerce systems and data, denial of service attacks, and other types of threats that aim to leak data, steal money, disable services, and affect systems’ availability.Both the NCA and the E-Commerce council hope that the two documents will raise security awareness for every one that uses this new form of commerce, and will support the establishment of best practices to face such threats and to mitigate their effects.

H.E Dr. Khaled Bin Abdullah Al-Sabti, Governor of the Saudi National Cybersecurity Authority, extended his heartiest congratulations to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and to HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, on 5th coronation anniversary of King Salman.Dr. Al-Sabti hailed the growth, modernization and advancement that the Kingdom has been enjoying at all levels over the past five years. “Thanks to Allah, and to the will and honesty of our wise leadership, our country has achieved many high-level political, social and economical objectives in accordance with the inspiring Vision 2030 in its pursuit to be a global role model in all fields,” Dr. Al-Sabti said.“It’s worth mentioning that the Cybersecurity sector is significantly supported and paid attention by our wise leadership reflecting a deep understanding that addressing the cyber challenges and risks would lead our country to achieve a sustainable development, cope with the global advancements, reach our national targets and protect our vital interests, national security, critical infrastructure, priority sectors and government services and activities,” added Dr. Al-Sabti.Concluding his statement, Dr. Al-Sabti prayed to Allah Almighty to protect King Salman and his Crown Prince and to maintain security, stability and prosperity for the Kingdom.

H.E Dr. Musaed Bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Minister of State, member of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of the Saudi National Cybersecurity Authority, extended his heartiest congratulations to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, and to the Saudi citizens on 5th coronation anniversary of King Salman. may Allah the perpetuate security, wellbeing and prosperity for the Kingdom.Dr. Al-Aiban said: “Under the wise leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his Crown Prince, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia takes steady and vigorous steps to boost its well-deserved standing globally, make new national achievements and maintain the security, stability and wellbeing bestowed by Allah Almighty on the Kingdom. These steps are guided by the national and ambitious Vision 2030 that aspires for comprehensive development and global standing.”“During the booming five-year reign of King Salman, the Kingdom witnessed many significant achievements at all levels, notably the establishment of the National Cybersecurity Authority which was able in a short time to make many achievements that enhanced the national cybersecurity ecosystem,” added Dr. Al-Aiban.Concluding his statement, Dr. Al-Aiban pray to Allah Almighty to protect and bless King Salman and his Crown Prince.