RIYADH, 3 December 2007 — The absence of domestic data about electronic crimes and the need for Saudi Arabia to sign international agreements with other countries in relation to this was highlighted yesterday on the second day of the three-day Information Technology & National Security (ITNS) conference here.

Dr. Fahd ibn Muhaya, speaking during a session about security challenges and the negative impact of terrorist organizations using IT, said that making data available would not only help the government, but also reassure private Internet users.

He also called for studies to be conducted in the Kingdom to highlight the impact of speedy high-tech advancements.

Dr. Izzadeen Khatab, another researcher, asked for a more viable method to detect electronic fraud. “All current methods of detecting fraud are primitive and lack efficiency,” he said, adding that hundreds of millions of dollars are lost in electronic theft each year.

Dr. Adnan Al-Khateeb said that it was important for IT companies to cooperate with concerned authorities in developing anti-scam electronic equipment.

In a session entitled “Impact of information technology on economic security,” Dr. Charles Saint-Prot mentioned that rapid international IT developments have resulted in people abusing the technology and using it in hostile and illegal ways.

“Based on circumstances, the ‘new war’ to receive information has become realistic,” he said, adding that it is important for every country in the world to safeguard all political, economical, military, and cultural bodies from electronic theft.

He added that it was important for developing countries to develop intelligence to face such threats, adding that it is necessary for countries to cooperate in this.

Sulaiman Al-Shiddi, a Saudi researcher, said that 82 percent of local Internet users were fearful of doing transactions on the Web, fearing that their credit card numbers may be stolen. He added that the percentage has dropped in relation to people using the Internet for personal or administrative reasons. “The cause is both due to a lack of awareness and also the absence of system to enforce laws,” he said.

Even though people in the Kingdom, who steal credit card numbers or commit electronic fraud, can be sentenced to three years in jail and fined up to SR2 million, enforcement is still needed, he said.

The researcher lauded the Kingdom’s initiative to establish a local payment method known as “Sadad” in which private or public companies are linked with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agencies and local banks.

Under the title “New Forms of War, New Forms of Intelligence Text Mining,” Alessandro Zanasi, another participating researcher, said that the biggest challenge faced by intelligence bodies today was “the tidal wave of information in various languages.” European intelligence bodies have adopted certain strategies to intercept information exchanged in chatrooms, e-mails, text messages and forums.

He mentioned that in the war against terror, after a terrorist operation is completed, “text mining” methods help intelligence officers analyze messages to try and understand the encrypted messages sent by organizations that claim attacks.

Such procedures, he said, also helps government bodies to pinpoint other illegal activities such as money laundering.