A Shoura Council member has called for the total Saudization of information technology (IT) jobs at government and public sector institutions for national security reasons.
Head of the fiscal committee at the Shoura Council, Saad Mareq, was quoted as saying in local media that his proposal was not aimed at blaming any foreigners. “It only concerns Saudis without pointing a finger at other parties,” he said.
He said Saudis should be employed to manage computers systems at government agencies.
The recommendation comes in the wake of an IT employee at a major institution in the Kingdom exercising his influence over more than 17 million customers.
The second session of the new Shoura Council also discussed a report submitted by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
Another member of the Council said the report lacked data concerning electronic breaches of a number of government websites.
A women member of the Council pointed out the report did not propose any measures to tackle cybercrimes. She said a national center for information security should be established to protect technology infrastructure and websites. “This will provide a safe electronic environment for all parties concerned, in view of the expansion and advancement of safe applications,” she added.
Total Saudization of IT sector needed for ‘national security’
