ABSTRACT
In 2017, after a series of crippling cyber-attacks, King Salman of Saudi Arabia issued a royal decree to establish the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA). While the Saudis have made tremendous strides, they are still contending with daily cyber-attacks from foreign actors, international criticism and distrust of the regime and its use of this technology in curtailing individual freedoms, and the lack of infrastructure and technological know-how to accomplish its Vision 2030 goals. This chapter explores these issues by examining the history of the Saudi information and communications technology infrastructure through to the development of the NCA in 2017. It discusses the Saudi cybersecurity paradigm shift by contextualizing it in the political and economic reforms pursued by MBS, the reform of legal and Islamic criminological frameworks, and the implications of Saudi cybersecurity policies at home and abroad.
