Saudi Arabia signs agreement with Lockheed Martin

WASHINGTON: The Saudi Cyber Security and Programming Federation (SFCSP) signed a memorandum of understanding with Lockheed Martin Corp. on Friday during the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, to the US, SPA reported.
Lockheed Martin is a world-class aviation, defense, and information security company that focuses chiefly on researching, designing, developing, and manufacturing advanced technologies and software systems.
The MoU aims to create a cybersecurity and programming partnership that focuses on improving and advancing Saudi Arabia’s cybersecurity and programming capabilities and combating cyberattacks and viruses.
In addition, Lockheed Martin will provide its expertise in training Saudi talents and transfer innovation technologies through its innovation center, Lighthouse, and organize national programming and cybersecurity contests in Saudi Arabia.
The MoU was co-signed by SFCSP’s deputy chairman, Abdullah Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, on behalf of Chairman Saud bin Abdullah Al-Qahtani, and Alan Chinoda, CEO of Lockheed Martin.
Al-Qahtani explained that “this partnership is a powerful addition for improving the skills and knowledge of Saudi Arabia’s cybersecurity and programming specialists.”
“It will show them how serious cyberattacks are, how the information infrastructure is targeted, and how to protect it using specialized systems,” he added.
SFCSP’s deputy chairman, Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, and members of the Saudi Cyber Security and Programming Federation visited on Friday the Cyber Academy and Cyber Operations Center at the Raytheon headquarters in Washington.
During the visit, which marked the effective date of the MoU between SFCSP and Raytheon, the academy’s academic programs and courses were demonstrated, and the possibility of implementing these programs at the federation’s headquarters in Saudi Arabia was discussed.
Moreover, the visit included a tour in the academy, and it was agreed that a team from Raytheon would visit SFCSP to discuss providing training programs at the Academy of Cybersecurity, Programming, and Artificial Intelligence, which was recently launched by Al-Ghamdi.
SFCSP also signed a MoU on Friday with Northrop Grumman, a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products, and solutions to government and commercial customers worldwide.