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Saudi Arabia’s Cybersecurity Recognized as 2nd Best Globally

This picture taken on January 11, 2020, shows a general view of Riyadh. (AFP)
This picture taken on January 11, 2020, shows a general view of Riyadh. (AFP)
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Saudi Arabia’s Cybersecurity Recognized as 2nd Best Globally

This picture taken on January 11, 2020, shows a general view of Riyadh. (AFP)
This picture taken on January 11, 2020, shows a general view of Riyadh. (AFP)

Saudi Arabia has secured second place in the global Cybersecurity Index in the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) for 2023 by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

Saudi Arabia also ranked 17th overall in 2023 – jumping seven places from 2022 – in the overall competitiveness ranking.

With Saudi Arabia frequently ranking among the top economies in the world for cybersecurity, the latest recognition by IIMD is a testament to the efforts of entities like the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA), one of Saudi Arabia’s key national security enablers.

Saudi Arabia has cemented its leadership position through several initiatives to build a sound and sustainable cybersecurity ecosystem in the Kingdom. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has also designated the Kingdom as a global leader in cybersecurity, ranking Saudi Arabia second on its Global Cyber Security Index.

NCA is the primary national authority for cyber concerns in the Kingdom. It works to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s cyberspace, enabling it to protect national security and vital state interests. The Authority defends the Kingdom’s critical infrastructure, priority economic sectors, and government services and activities from cyber threats.

NCA sets the necessary standards for licensing the import, export, and use of hardware and software in terms of cybersecurity, while ensuring compliance with these standards. NCA’s work contributes to the creation of a secure and thriving economy that guarantees the prosperity of Saudi Arabia, and its people.

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Technology

US House Speaker Warns Curbing AI Too Sharply Could Leave China Ahead

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during the second day of the Republican National Committee midterm convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on September 10, 2026. (AFP)
US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during the second day of the Republican National Committee midterm convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on September 10, 2026. (AFP)
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US House Speaker Warns Curbing AI Too Sharply Could Leave China Ahead

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during the second day of the Republican National Committee midterm convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on September 10, 2026. (AFP)
US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during the second day of the Republican National Committee midterm convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on September 10, 2026. (AFP)

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday warned that moving too quickly to curb AI development could cost the United States the tech race to China.

Johnson's comments come amid a growing chorus of AI leaders and experts sounding the alarm that untamed AI growth could cause irreparable damage to humanity.

"If Congress just races in and does some sort of emergency session to try to regulate AI, we will lose the race to China, and that is a threat to every single American," Johnson said on CNN Sunday morning.

"But we don't need everybody to panic right now. We need to handle this new technology like we have others in the past, and make sure we're doing everything we can responsibly to also not smother American innovation," he added. "We have to do both things simultaneously."

Johnson, a Republican, called for a meeting in Congress with top AI executives to figure out how best to regulate the industry. He added that he had discussed the idea with President Donald Trump, and, when asked if such a meeting could take place this week, Johnson said: "Yeah, I'd do it tomorrow."

The remarks follow a call by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to slow down the development of the powerful technology, amid mounting worries over the risks of "superintelligent" computer systems.

His comments came a few days after AI researcher Jacob Coxon, who had previously worked at both OpenAI and Anthropic, decided to leave the industry, accusing both US companies of "gambling with our lives" in the race to develop models capable of self-improvement.

OpenAI boss Sam Altman and Elon Musk, who owns xAI, quickly chimed in to say they agreed with Amodei's assessment, as pressure builds for improved oversight.

Concerns have grown in recent weeks after OpenAI revealed that during testing, AI models broke out of their confined environment, connected to the internet and infiltrated Hugging Face, a site developers use to store and share code.

In that incident and others, the blame was placed on AI agents, which are software programs that can carry out tasks without constant supervision by humans.

In early August, the US government put in place a voluntary security review process for advanced AI models before their release, but the parameters of that program remain unclear.

Industry observers have questioned how effective it would be, as the Trump administration has thus far favored a light-touch, deregulatory approach to most industries, including tech.

Technology

Anthropic Boss Calls for Slowing Pace of AI Development

(FILES) Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei looks on as he takes part in a session on AI during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 23, 2025. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei looks on as he takes part in a session on AI during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 23, 2025. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)
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Anthropic Boss Calls for Slowing Pace of AI Development

(FILES) Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei looks on as he takes part in a session on AI during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 23, 2025. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei looks on as he takes part in a session on AI during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 23, 2025. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Saturday called on artificial intelligence (AI) firms to slow down the development of the powerful technology, amid mounting worries over the risks of "superintelligent" computer systems.

His comments came a few days after AI researcher Jacob Coxon, who left OpenAI to join Anthropic, decided to leave the industry, accusing both US companies of "gambling with our lives" in the race to develop models capable of self-improvement.

"We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain," Amodei wrote in a post on his personal website.

"AI brings risks, and because it is such a powerful technology, these risks are serious."

"Not building the technology deprives humanity of benefits or simply places AI in the hands of authoritarian powers, while building it too fast is reckless. We have sought a middle way," said Amodei, who co-founded Anthropic with his sister Daniela in 2021.

"But over the last few months, I have become convinced that fully addressing the risks requires even more prudence."

According to AFP, Amodei's statement echoes another call by Anthropic in early June to slow or suspend development.

Then in late July, Sam Altman, the boss of Anthropic rival OpenAI, said developers might need to voluntarily pump the brakes on their rapid advances to give society a chance to catch up.

At roughly the same time, more than 1,000 employees at cutting-edge AI companies including Amodei signed a petition calling on the US government to help "deliberately pace the frontier of automated AI development."

OpenAI had revealed that during testing, the AI models broke out of their confined environment, connected to the internet and infiltrated Hugging Face, a site developers use to store and share code.

Earlier this week, Coxon, 27, sounded the alarm after spending the past three years pretraining AI models -- first at OpenAI and then, this year, at its rival Anthropic, which he considered more cautious in its approach.

Pretraining is the stage where AI models absorb vast quantities of data.

"Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives," Coxon said Tuesday.

"The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade," he said in a post on X.
Superintelligence is the theoretical point when AI's capabilities exceed human intelligence.

Technology

Oracle Shares Rise as AI Cloud Backlog Beats Estimates

FILE PHOTO: A logo of cloud service provider Oracle is seen at the company's offices at Eastpoint Business Park, Dublin, Ireland October 18, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Bergin/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A logo of cloud service provider Oracle is seen at the company's offices at Eastpoint Business Park, Dublin, Ireland October 18, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Bergin/File Photo
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Oracle Shares Rise as AI Cloud Backlog Beats Estimates

FILE PHOTO: A logo of cloud service provider Oracle is seen at the company's offices at Eastpoint Business Park, Dublin, Ireland October 18, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Bergin/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A logo of cloud service provider Oracle is seen at the company's offices at Eastpoint Business Park, Dublin, Ireland October 18, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Bergin/File Photo

Oracle shares rose 5.5% premarket on Friday after the cloud computing and software company's stronger-than-expected quarterly results eased concerns around its massive debt-driven spending spree.

The Austin, Texas-based firm booked more than $30 billion of additional AI cloud contracts in the first fiscal quarter, boosting its revenue backlog to $664 billion, above analyst estimates of $639.89 billion, according to data from Visible Alpha.

Oracle's upbeat results follow a period of underperformance, as the company races ⁠to keep pace ⁠with hyperscale rivals, with mounting debt and squeezed cash flows raising doubts over when its massive AI spending will pay off.

The results should address key investor concerns including whether Oracle's backlog growth can be ⁠sustained, its conversion into revenue amid data center delays, and the need for further capital raises, Reuters quoted J.P. Morgan analysts as saying.

Its shares were down more than 21% so far this year, compared with a nearly 11% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index.

"Oracle's problem has not been finding customers, but proving that its enormous data center build-out can eventually generate ⁠enough ⁠cash to justify the cost. The results should nevertheless ease fears that Oracle is building ahead of demand," said Lale Akoner, etoro market strategist.

Oracle is set to add about $24 billion in market value at the current share price of $161.3, if gains hold.

The stock trades at 16.86 times its forward earnings estimates, compared with Microsoft's 23.84 multiple and Amazon's 22.58, according to data compiled by LSEG.