#saudi-surveillance

#saudi-surveillance

Chalker claims that during his time at the C.I.A., he was instrumental in persuading Iranian scientists to defect, which provided crucial information that 'prevented Iran from getting a nuke.' His operations involved complex strategies and a deep understanding of the scientists' motivations.

Indian authorities have reportedly ordered an audit of the nation's CCTV cameras, after police uncovered what they claim was a Pakistan-backed surveillance operation involving cameras aimed at railway stations and other infrastructure.

This large-scale and invasive AI-enabled surveillance of public spaces is not legal, necessary or proportionate to the legitimate aim of providing security. History shows us that this is the latest tool used by governments to invade the privacy of citizens and stifle freedom of movement and expression.

The level of accuracy in some of this targeting you can see it in our neighbours as well as the kingdom indicates that this is something that was premeditated, preplanned, preorganised and well thought out.

Saudi Arabia is already operating the kind of connected, AI-enabled healthcare infrastructure many countries are still debating how to build. At FII9, the conversation was unmistakable. Global innovation momentum is shifting toward the Middle East, and nowhere more than Saudi Arabia, where national digital platforms like Sehhaty already give millions of residents unified access to their health data. At the Global Health Exhibition, I saw population-level analytics, AI-powered diagnostics, multiomic initiatives, and interoperable infrastructure deployed at a speed and scale that would take years in other countries.

Saudi Arabia just made its most aggressive move yet in that generational project. The kingdom announced a new $40 billion technology investment fund, developed in partnership with American venture capital heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), aimed at positioning Saudi Arabia as a global hub for artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, and advanced computing.

In the early hours of March 1, an Amazon data center in the UAE was struck by a drone, the company reported. Shortly afterward, another center belonging to the American tech giant suffered a direct hit. And a short time later, a third, this time in Bahrain, was damaged by another drone strike. Since Amazon is the preferred partner of many companies and governments in the region, the attacks caused immediate disruptions.

So we've gone from identifying the target to now coming up with a course of action, to now actioning that target, all from one system. This is revolutionary. We were having this done in about eight or nine systems where humans were literally moving detections left and right in order to get to our desired end state, in this case closing a kill chain.

I've reviewed the charge sheet and from reading it you wouldn't know what they've done wrong. We're seeing more and more people being charged under the UAE's cyber-crime rules.

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore said advanced persistent threat UNC3886 dug itself into the networks of all four major telecom providers, sparking an 11-month digital eviction effort involving more than 100 personnel from across government, military, intelligence, and industry. Branded "Operation Cyber Guardian," the cleanup saw the state and telco engineers teaming up to flush the intruders out while keeping the nation's phone and data pipes flowing.

The Qatari Ministry of Defence said the country came under a wave of drone attacks on Friday, with 10 drones fired from Iran. Nine of them were intercepted and destroyed, but one managed to reach the ground and land in a remote area.

Three years ago [when Web Summit Qatar began], people were talking about entering a multi-polar world. We are now living in a multi-polar world, said Paddy Cosgrave. As evidence, he referenced the fiery rebuke of Donald Trump given by the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, at Davos a few weeks prior. He pointed to the act that had preceded him on stage: dancing robots built by a Chinese company, which he called the most advanced in the world.

By the standards of mega arms deals, the $1.5bn deal for Pakistan to reportedly sell jets and weapons to Sudan's military isn't huge. But the deal, which the Reuters news agency reported in early January was close to being finalised, could prove pivotal in the grinding war that has devoured Sudan for nearly three years between the country's armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).