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SDAIA President: Establishing ICAIRE in Riyadh Is Significant Achievement for Kingdom's AI Leadership 

Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi speaks at the forum. (SPA)
Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi speaks at the forum. (SPA)
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SDAIA President: Establishing ICAIRE in Riyadh Is Significant Achievement for Kingdom's AI Leadership 

Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi speaks at the forum. (SPA)
Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi speaks at the forum. (SPA)

Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi emphasized on Monday that the cabinet's decision to establish the International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Ethics (ICAIRE) in Riyadh, and its classification as a UNESCO Category II International Center, mark significant achievements in line with SDAIA's vision.

Al-Ghamdi stated that such a vision positions Saudi Arabia as a global leader in ethical artificial intelligence (AI) by providing support for research and development in the field, enhancing awareness of AI ethics, and offering consultative support in AI policies and capacity building.

He made his remarks at a ministerial session, “Regional Approach to Advance Ethical Governance of Artificial Intelligence” during the Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, organized by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Slovenia’s Ministry of Digital Transformation in Kranj.

The forum, held under the theme “Changing the Landscape of AI Governance,” is taking place from February 5 and 6 with the participation of several distinguished ministers of technology and AI from various countries.

“The Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence reminds us of our shared responsibility in dealing with the complexities of AI. It also emphasizes the need for a collaborative spirit in shaping the future of artificial intelligence,” Al-Ghamdi said.

The ICAIRE center in the Kingdom has taken significant steps in regional collaboration and capacity building, hosting in the past two weeks two sessions on AI governance regarding UNESCO's methodology for ethical readiness for AI, he added.

These sessions were held in collaboration with UNESCO, the Arab League, and the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Al-Ghamdi noted.

The sessions were aimed at aligning regional ethical practices for AI, fostering awareness, achieving dissemination, and unleashing the inherent value of AI while ensuring adherence to the correct standards, he continued.

He added that the Kingdom's central geographic and cultural location in the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds "gives us a profound responsibility" because Muslims account for nearly a quarter of the world's population and a significant portion also speak Arabic.

"This necessitates our progress in AI to be comprehensive and culturally sensitive. Therefore, we pay special attention to the development of Arabic language technologies and large language models to ensure the region's presence in the framework of advancing AI," Al-Ghamdi said.

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North Korean Charged in Cyberattacks on US Hospitals, NASA and Military Bases

A man who allegedly carried out cybercrimes for a North Korean military intelligence agency has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack hospitals and health care providers in several US states. - The AP
A man who allegedly carried out cybercrimes for a North Korean military intelligence agency has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack hospitals and health care providers in several US states. - The AP
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North Korean Charged in Cyberattacks on US Hospitals, NASA and Military Bases

A man who allegedly carried out cybercrimes for a North Korean military intelligence agency has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack hospitals and health care providers in several US states. - The AP
A man who allegedly carried out cybercrimes for a North Korean military intelligence agency has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack hospitals and health care providers in several US states. - The AP

A North Korean military intelligence operative has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack into American health care providers, NASA, US military bases and international entities, stealing sensitive information and installing ransomware to fund more attacks, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

The indictment of Rim Jong Hyok by a grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, accuses him of laundering the money through a Chinese bank and then using it to buy computer servers and fund more cyberattacks on defense, technology and government entities around the world.

The hacks on American hospitals and other health care providers disrupted the treatment of patients, officials said. He's accused of targeting 17 entities across 11 US states, including NASA and US military bases, as well as defense and energy companies in China, Taiwan and South Korea, according to The AP.

For more than three months, Rim and other members of the Andariel Unit of North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau had access to NASA’s computer system, extracting over 17 gigabytes of unclassified data, the indictment says. They also reached inside computer systems for defense companies in Michigan and California, as well as Randolph Air Force base in Texas and Robins Air Force base in Georgia, authorities say.

The malware enabled the state-sponsored Andariel group to send stolen information to North Korean military intelligence, furthering the country’s military and nuclear aspirations, federal prosecutors said. They've gone after details of fighter aircraft, missile defense systems, satellite communications and radar systems, a senior FBI official said.

“While North Korea uses these types of cyber crimes to circumvent international sanctions and fund its political and military ambitions, the impact of these wanton acts have a direct impact on the citizens of Kansas,” said Stephen A. Cyrus, an FBI agent based in Kansas City.

Online court records do not list an attorney for Rim, who has lived in North Korea and worked at the military intelligence agency’s offices in both Pyongyang and Sinuiju, according to court records. A reward of up to $10 million has been offered for information that could lead to him or other foreign government operatives who target critical US infrastructure.

The Justice Department has prosecuted multiple cases related to North Korean hacking, often alleging a profit-driven motive that sets the nation's cybercriminals apart from hackers in Russia and China. In 2021, for instance, the department charged three North Korean computer programmers in a broad range of hacks including a destructive attack targeting an American movie studio and the attempted theft and extortion of more than $1.3 billion from banks and companies around the world.

In this case, the FBI was alerted by a Kansas medical center that was hit in May 2021. Hackers had encrypted its files and servers, blocking access to patient files, laboratory test results and computers needed to operate hospital equipment. A Colorado health care provider was affected by the same Maui ransomware variant.

A ransom note sent to the Kansas hospital demanded Bitcoin payments valued then at about $100,000, to be sent to a cryptocurrency address.

“Otherwise all of your files will be posted in the Internet which may lead you to loss of reputation and cause the troubles for your business,” the note reads. “Please do not waste your time! You have 48 hours only! After that the Main server will double your price.”

Federal investigators said they traced blockchains to follow the money: An unnamed co-conspirator transferred the Bitcoin to a virtual currency address belonging to two Hong Kong residents before it was converted into Chinese currency and transferred to a Chinese bank. The money was then accessed from an ATM in China next to the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge connecting China and North Korea, according to court records.

In 2022, the Justice Department said the FBI seized approximately $500,000 in ransom payments from the money laundering accounts, including the entire ransom payment from the hospital.

An arrest of Rim is unlikely, so the biggest outcome of the indictment is that it may lead to sanctions that could cripple the ability of North Korea to collect ransoms this way, which could in turn remove the motivation to conduct cyber attacks on entities like hospitals in the future, according to Allan Liska, an analyst with the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

“Now, unfortunately, that will force them to do more cryptocurrency theft. So it’s not going to stop their activity. But the hope is that we won’t have hospitals disrupted by ransomware attacks because they’ll know that they can’t get paid,” Liska said.

He also noted that a Chinese entity was among the victims and questioned what the country, which is an ally of North Korea, thinks of being targeted.

“China can’t be too thrilled about that,” he said.