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Saudi Arabia Signs Contracts Worth $426.6 Mln to Boost Defense Research and Development

GADD hosts the second edition of the JISR 2025 Forum on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
GADD hosts the second edition of the JISR 2025 Forum on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Signs Contracts Worth $426.6 Mln to Boost Defense Research and Development

GADD hosts the second edition of the JISR 2025 Forum on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
GADD hosts the second edition of the JISR 2025 Forum on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi General Authority for Defense Development (GADD) has signed contracts worth over SAR 1.6 billion ($426.6 million) in 2024 to support research in five key areas addressing military and security priorities. These efforts align with Saudi Arabia’s broader goal of localizing 50% of its military spending by 2030.

Established four years ago, GADD is responsible for regulating, supervising and promoting research, development, and innovation in defense technologies and national security. It aims to advance these fields while fostering the localization of defense sector outputs.

On Sunday, GADD hosted the second edition of the JISR 2025 Forum, bringing together 29 local universities, research centers and national companies, alongside international institutions from the UK and France. The event showcased the scientific achievements of over 90 students.

Speaking at the forum in Riyadh, GADD Governor Dr. Faleh Al-Sulaiman highlighted Saudi Arabia’s progress in scientific and technological research, noting that the Kingdom has published over 55,000 research papers and registered more than 2,700 patents.

The first edition of the forum led to 23 research projects across six Saudi universities, strengthening ties between academia and the defense industry, he remarked.

Dr. Abdullah Aba Al-Khail, Director of Corporate Communications at GADD, stressed to Asharq Al-Awsat the authority’s commitment to enhancing Saudi Arabia’s defense self-sufficiency by fostering collaboration between academia and industry.

Over the past year, students have contributed 68 research projects across five main fields and 40 specialized topics addressing military and security needs, he revealed. These projects, supported by previously signed contracts worth SAR 1.6 billion, aim to integrate university expertise into industrial applications.

Students at the forum presented research projects aimed at advancing security and military technology. Iman Al-Attas, a PhD student at King Abdulaziz University, developed a deepfake detection model capable of identifying AI-generated fraudulent videos, helping to prevent identity fraud and misinformation.

Mansour Al-Harithi, a PhD researcher at King Saud University, is working on nano-sensors designed to detect hazardous pollutants in water with extreme sensitivity, even at minimal concentrations.

Nouf Al-Hibad, an AI master’s student at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, is developing wearable authentication technology that verifies user identity based on movement patterns and sensor data, complementing facial and retinal recognition.

Students praised GADD’s financial and logistical support, which has enabled them to turn research concepts into marketable products, contributing to the localization of Saudi defense spending. Founded in 2021 under a government decision, GADD operates as an independent entity directly linked to Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. It plays a central role in advancing Saudi Arabia’s defense research, innovation and localization efforts.

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Technology

Anthropic AI Model Submits False Homicide Tip to Police Website

The Anthropic logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
The Anthropic logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Anthropic AI Model Submits False Homicide Tip to Police Website

The Anthropic logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
The Anthropic logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)

An Anthropic artificial intelligence model submitted a false homicide tip through a Philadelphia police website, the department said in a statement, the latest incident of rogue behavior from the powerful technology. 

Anthropic notified authorities earlier this week and said that an automated testing process was responsible for the submission, ‌according to the ‌police. 

The fast-advancing technology has become a matter ‌of ⁠keen national interest amid ⁠reports of AI agents hacking into corporate computer networks, and warnings from researchers that it could one day pose an existential threat to humanity. In September, Anthropic rival OpenAI apologized for the hacking of an Australian health data portal by a rogue AI agent, the first known instance of an AI agent exploiting a government website. 

Previous ⁠incidents have involved AI agents hacking into vulnerable systems ‌or commandeering unsanctioned platforms to communicate ‌with one another. This is the first known case in which a rogue ‌AI appears to have tried to communicate a bogus tip ‌to authorities. 

The Philadelphia police department said the tip "was flagged as spam and was never forwarded to the Real-Time Crime Center for investigative vetting or dissemination," and added that Anthropic had told them the company intended to publish ‌a report on the incident on Friday. 

Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Pennsylvania law ⁠specifies it ⁠is generally a misdemeanor crime for "a person" to knowingly give false reports to law enforcement authorities. This includes "information relating to an offense or incident when he knows he has no information relating to such offense or incident." 

Police quoted Anthropic as telling them the testing process was stopped after the incident was uncovered. 

The false tip was submitted through PhillyUnsolvedMurders.com concerning an unsolved homicide. The tip, dated July 18, 2026, purported to come from someone who might have information about the case, the police said. 

Police said they did not have evidence of unauthorized access to their systems or compromise of police department data. 

Technology

OpenAI Says it Has Fired 3 Researchers for Violating Sensitive Information Policy

FILE PHOTO: A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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OpenAI Says it Has Fired 3 Researchers for Violating Sensitive Information Policy

FILE PHOTO: A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

OpenAI fired three of its researchers last week after an investigation found they violated policies on handling sensitive information, the AI major said in a post on X on Friday.

OpenAI's statement comes after the dismissed researchers Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak and Mikita Balesni published a ⁠letter outlining the circumstances ⁠of their termination, arguing that their abrupt firing could create uncertainty among remaining employees and undermine the culture that previously allowed researchers to raise safety concerns.

"I believe we were fired for prioritizing safety over the near-term interests of OpenAI as a corporation," Balesni said in an X post that accompanied the letter.

OpenAI, ⁠however, asserted that the dismissal was not related to raising safety concerns or speaking out.

"Our internal investigation uncovered a significant breach of trust beyond what's outlined in the letter they published and we stand by the decision to not continue their employment," Reuters quoted OpenAI as saying.

"Safety and research debates happen every day at OpenAI, often spirited and highly critical. We actively encourage these discussions and consider them essential to making the right decisions...We have not and do not terminate any of our employees for raising ⁠concerns," it ⁠said.

While OpenAI did not reveal the specifics of the alleged violations, Wang, Korbak, and Balesni said in their letter that they were not the source of a news article published on The Information last month about security concerns around OpenAI's latest AI model 'Astra'.

This comes as current and former researchers at major AI firms OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic warn that companies are doing too little to guard against the potential fallout of building self-improving AI systems that could become difficult for humans to control.

In July, OpenAI agents broke out of their testing arena and hacked AI firm Hugging Face.

Technology

Chinese AI Tool Pulled to Prevent 'Misuse' after South Korea Hacks

Illustrative image of hackers carrying out a cyberattack (Reuters)
Illustrative image of hackers carrying out a cyberattack (Reuters)
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Chinese AI Tool Pulled to Prevent 'Misuse' after South Korea Hacks

Illustrative image of hackers carrying out a cyberattack (Reuters)
Illustrative image of hackers carrying out a cyberattack (Reuters)

Chinese AI cybersecurity tool Artex said it stopped programmers from accessing its source code, acknowledging misuse by "bad actors" after South Korea linked it to several recent bank hacks.

Artex was designed to help organizations strengthen their cyber defenses through security testing to find potential weak points.

But the South Korean government said this week it was "highly likely" Artex had been used in data breaches at more than seven financial institutions, including major banks.

Artificial intelligence's ability to find previously unknown ways to hack into computer systems is in the global spotlight, as leading labs release ever-more advanced models.

Artex was "abused by some bad actors" to launch cyberattacks, the tool's developer "Autumn-27" wrote Thursday on code-hosting platform GitHub.

"Given the misuse of the tool, the Artex project will no longer be updated and will be converted to closed-source," the developer said.

"No further versions will be released to the public, nor will maintenance support be provided."

Artex had been open-source -- allowing programmers to download its underlying code and customize it to suit their purposes.

Using Artex for cyberattacks was "entirely contrary to" the developer's intentions, they added, without referring directly to the alleged South Korean cases.

South Korea's Financial Services Commission says more than 68,000 people have been affected by the hacks.

Shinhan Bank, one of the breached institutions, said information attached to loan applications for about 25,000 customers had been leaked -- including names, phone numbers and annual income.

- 'Financially motivated' -

In Japan, meanwhile, around 20 companies have said their data may have been compromised in a spate of similar cyberattacks potentially impacting millions of customers.

The Japanese government has called on companies to strengthen their cyber defenses.

"At this stage, it is not clear what the background to these cases is or whether there are any links between them", Japan police chief Yoshinobu Kusunoki said on Thursday.

As AI makes hacking more sophisticated, "the scope of the damage is spreading across all areas on a scale that is difficult to compare with the past", South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday.

US cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike said on Wednesday that its investigations into digital clues suggested the attacker had used Artex, and was potentially a 26-year-old based in China.

"The threat actor is likely a Chinese speaker and financially motivated," a CrowdStrike blog post said.

Experts told AFP that Artex going closed-source would make the code harder for new users to obtain and adapt.

But the decision "cannot remove copies already downloaded or prevent people from continuing to use them", said Poe Zhao, founder of the analysis publication Hello China Tech.

"Because the code was public, people could download it, change it and run it themselves. The developer could ask users to follow the rules, but had little control over their actions," he added.

Ilya Kulyatin, CEO of Foundry Labs and founder of the Tokyo AI (TAI) tech community, said users of open-source programs can "remove restrictions built into the tool" which "makes certain forms of misuse easier".

"But openness also benefits defenders: researchers can inspect the code, identify weaknesses and improve protection."